Little has changed in the last five years as work continues on negotiations over a proposed national park in the South Okanagan - Similkameen based on a recent update from Parks Canada. 

After a memorandum of understanding was signed in 2019 between local First Nations and multiple levels of the Canadian government, work on the boundaries and details for the park between Osoyoos and Keremeos has suffered delays, including the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters in 2021. 

The core proposal, about 270 square kilometres of land stretching from the U.S.-Canada border, crossing Highway 3 and continuing up into the current South Okanagan Grasslands Protected Area, has remained largely unchanged. 

The most recent update from Parks Canada stated that one small exception, for the Osoyoos Wildlife Federation's firearms range on Crown lands, had been removed from the proposed boundaries. 

In 2022, work was being focused on the number of species-at-risk that would be protected with the boundary of the proposed park, which at the time stood at 17 provincially-listed species-at-risk in the region and 92 federally recognized species-at-risk, as well 36 ecological communities that are considered at risk.

Currently, the Osoyoos Indian Band, Lower Similkameen Indian Band and Forsite Consultants are working to map out the roads and trails that are located with the proposed boundaries to better inform decision-making. 

The update from Parks Canada also reiterated that if the park does become a reality, only Crown land would be transferred from the province to Parks Canada, and private lands would only be acquired on a willing-seller and willing-buyer basis, with Parks Canada having no jurisdiction over private lands. 

The Wilderness Committee, a non-profit focused on protecting biodiversity and based out of Vancouver and Victoria in B.C., recently issued a call for supporters of the park to work with them in calling on the provincial government to move forward in the face of political uncertainty.