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The O'Keefe Ranch is staring down what could be its final season — unless somebody in Vernon city hall changes course fast.

The Historic O'Keefe Ranch and Interior Heritage Society was informed this week, through the city's chief administrative officer, that council has decided not to extend the ranch's lease beyond its March 31, 2027 expiry date.

The City of Vernon owns the property outright.

It was donated to Vernon in perpetuity by the Devonian Foundation to preserve ranching heritage in the North Okanagan.

And yet the society says council has not said whether the city plans to operate the ranch itself, find another operator, or simply shut it down.

That silence leaves the society planning an orderly wind-down and eventual dissolution — along with the disposal of society-owned assets that include antique stoves, carriages, stagecoaches, farm equipment and livestock.

The fallout spreads far beyond one site.

Ranch partners facing an uncertain future include the Pioneer Power Club, the North Okanagan Model Railway Exhibit, the Field of Screams attraction, Hamming Farms, the Rustler's Table restaurant and local school district programs.

For decades, volunteers poured tens of thousands of hours into making the ranch one of the region's premier heritage attractions — drawing visitors from across the country and around the world.

Here's the conservative read: this is what happens when government ownership meets political indifference.

The city holds an asset it accepted in perpetuity, starves the volunteer operator of any long-term certainty, and now refuses to articulate a plan.

Taxpayers paid for condition assessments and conservation plans.

The return on that investment is a shrug.

A petition is now circulating urging council to reconsider and sit down with the society before the clock runs out.

Heritage is easy to love and hard to fund — but the one thing that costs nothing is telling the public what you intend to do.