Reports are circulating that there could be a ?surprise? announcement on the proposed Jumbo ski resort development soon, but at least two of the key players in the long running issue are throwing cold water on the possibility.

However, another key player in the Jumbo issue says look for an announcement in October.

Ktunaxa Nation Council Chair Kathryn Teneese says exchanges have been taking place between the Ktunaxa and the provincial government but no breakthroughs have happened yet.

?We have been involved in discussion and a bit of too?ing and fro?ing and we?ve sent our most recent feedback off to them so now it sits in the Province?s hands.?

Teneese says it?s hard to judge if progress is being made in the Jumbo discussions, which have dragged on for close to 20 years. ?It?s really difficult to measure. When you?re having discussions directly, you appear to be (making progress) but then there?s behind the scenes machinations that you?re not always aware of.?

Wildsight issued an ?action alert? in late August, saying ?the Jumbo file is moving again? and urging its members to write or e-mail Premier Gordon Campbell and Tourism Minister Kevin Kruger opposing development of the $450 million ski resort 60 km west of Invermere.

?I know they?re being read,? says Wildsight Executive Director John Bergenske, adding discussions are taking place between Victoria and the Ktunaxa and his information is that a decision is ?imminent? by October.

But way the decision is going to go is anyone?s guess, Bergenske says. ?It could go either way. I?m not absolutely confident what way it?s going to go. The government still has Grizzly bear issues to look at and First Nations issues.?

A recent research paper on the Purcell Range Grizzly population by wildlife biologist Michael Procter, one of the foremost experts in the field, says the Purcell Range Grizzly population is critical to the species survival in the area. Development of Jumbo would threaten an already fragmented Grizzly population, Procter says.

?There?s already major problems for the connectivity of the Grizzly bear population right down to the border of the USA,? says Bergenske.

Meanwhile Grant Costello, vice-president of Glacier Resorts Ltd., says resort proponents are waiting for a decision on Jumbo like everyone else. No discussions have taken place between the resort and the Ktunaxa since July 2009, he says.

?They have had no interest in meeting since then because I think they were actually in serious discussions with the Province and they?re awaiting the outcome of that before they turn their mind back towards us.?

Costello says he was under the impression that the talks between the Ktunaxa and the government were operating under a deadline of December 1, 2009. But this was not the case

?They have stretched out since then. So we don?t have any idea and we can?t get any information except that they tell us when the process is finished and we might hear something from them then.?

In August, 2009, the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) passed a motion in favour of the Province passing legislation to declare Jumbo a resort municipality like Whistler or Sun Peaks near Kamloops. But no action has been taken on the RDEK?s initiative yet.

As things stand now, the Jumbo proponents have jumped through numerous hoops and loops including obtaining an environmental certificate and having its master plan approved. The next step in the process is approval of a Master Development Agreement.

But even this might not be the end of an approval process that has dragged on for almost two decades, says Costello. ?It?s just the beginning of a new set of hurdles, but it?s a critical one. It gives us the ability to go out and start a plan for implementation and construction.?