The Friends of Fort Steele Society was founded in 1987 under the BC Society Act as a not-for-profit society. The Society is dedicated to conserving, presenting, and teaching the history of Fort Steele, and the Kootenays, on behalf of the Province of BC, the communities of the Kootenays and the Society’s members and volunteers. The Society has operated the provincial heritage site, Fort Steele Heritage Town under a Management Agreement with the Province of BC, the site owner, since 2004.