is there an automated way to just add the tails that are not there now? I could download the existing OSM data into JOSM, show it with the Geogratis data, subtract the two and only upload what isn't there... that would make the info more accurate than what is there now, no?

Viajero, I appreciate your response. Unfortunately tracing from aerials is not an option in the Crowsnest Pass and will likely never be. The creeks run through thick forest and you can't see them in aerials. Take a look at Star Creek for example. (Stream Number 27384952). There is another 16km of that creek past where it is shown to end in OSM. If you were to trace it, you'd be guessing most of the time.

The streams feeding into the Crowsnest River are really inaccurate and incomplete. Can we use the Geogratis data set BNDT 1:50,000 produced by Government of Canada? How do I upload them?