Having led the way to preserve the Alexander Mackenzie Trail in B.C., John Woodworth of Kelowna teamed with the federal goverment to produce a 27 X 18" bilingual travel map, Canada Sea to Sea on the Alexander Mackenzie Voyageur Route, made available from Sandhill Distribution. It was replaced by an 18" X 36" version, with information taken from Mackenzie's records. As well, a waterproof trail guide by Halle Flygard and John Woodworth to the route between the Fraser River and the Bella Coola was reprinted in 2003. First published in 1987, it was adapted from Halle Flygare's notes of summer explorations and trail clearing projects from 1975 to 1986. The trail was measured by survey wheel in May-June and September of 1986. Flygare provided most of the photos; Gerry Allard and Steve Flynn provided sketches. "To the Indians, our commemoration of this Mackenzie Trail, or Grease Trail, or West Road, is a non-event. After all, this is THEIR TRAIL -- one of the links in a network of ancient pathways to Anahim Lake, Chilcotin, Bella Coola, Entiako and Fraser." Woodworth was born on July 25, 1924 in Vancouver. [See Alexander Mackenzie entry.]

John Woodworth was raised in the Okanagan Valley, served as a WW II reconnaissance pilot for RAF Coastal Command, studied architecture at UBC from 1946 to 1952, and practiced as an architect for three years in Vancouver and 30 years in Kelowna. He was a founding director and president of the Okanagan Similkameen Parks Society, founding director of the Nature Trust of B.C., a chairman of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, founding president of the Alexander Mackenzie Voyageur Route Association and has helped preserve Kelowna waterfront. He received the Canadian Parks Service Heritage Award in 1988, the Order of Canada in 1990, the Gabrielle Leger Award from Heritage Canada in 1995 and an honorary doctorate from Okanagan University College in 2000.

[BCBW 2003] "Local History" "Forts and Fur"