The Municipal District of Lesser Slave River and its municipal neighbours in Slave Lake and the M.D. of Big Lakes have been missing the boat in selling themselves “for far too many years,” the M.D.’s Economic Development Officer told the M.D. council last week. That is they could post signs at their highway boundaries, announcing that travelers are “entering Big Lake Country, home of Alberta’s largest recreational lake!
“Travelers need to be reminded that they are coming into something special and unique, and the signs will reinforce in residents a sense of pride that they are living in an important tourism zone.”
Likewise the municipalities could turn the tables and take advantage of the fires which caused so much devastation in recent years, he added.
That is, many visitors headed this way are coming from Edmonton, and are “greeted and awed by the recent forest fire devastation on the west side of the Athabasca River.
“This is a great opportunity to address this emotion and get in a plug for the vibrant forest industry in this area.” Explaining that one entity has applied for a grant to erect an interpretive station about 10 km east of Slave Lake. Lane explained it will “explain to motorists and hikers the history of the 1998 and 2001 fires and the role such fires play in the regeneration of the boreal forest. “They will be able to stop and have a picnic and read about the various mills they can see across Mitsue Lake, the opportunity to take tours, and literally look at the materials of the kiosk itself to see at what mill they were fabricated.”
Before long the visitors will be met by a sign introducing the proposed regional Visitor Information Centre as they approach Slave Lake, he added. And the words on the sign will become an important invitation to feast on the many offerings of the community and region. Those should include promises of “Campground information, museum, souvenirs, business and tourism information,” he said. And more importantly, the centre itself will have to deliver on those promises.
“The Centre itself needs to be virtually all things to all visitors,” Lane added.
In fact, “in an ideal world” the facility will be open and staffed all year long, he said, with that staff including “people working for Big Lake Country Tourism, the Slave Lake and District Chamber of Commerce, the Alberta North Tourism Destination Region, or the Lesser Slave Lake Community Development Corporation.” The centre will be chalk full of information on the many attractions and attributes of both the M.D. and the Town of Slave Lake he added, because the longer visitors stay at the centre, the better the chance of “promoting our regional attractions and business opportunities.
“The idea of a small museum that incorporates a little bit of the region’s aboriginal heritage as well as Slave Lake’s importance in the fields of oil, gas, forestry and fur trade is welcomed. Displays about Riverboat Daze, the Songbird Festival and the Sand Sculpting Championships would also be useful.”
Lane’s economic development vision also includes suggestions that the intersection of Hwys. 2 and 88 a kilometre further west “is a gold mine waiting to be harvested” in terms of attractions for this community and region.
“If we haven’t stopped the traffic at the VIC, we have another chance to do so here with a Tim Horton’s or other fast food outlet,” he added in his report to M.D. councillors.
“A service station and/or another motel franchise would do well here also. Partnerships with these operations would be a vital chance to turn people north towards Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park or the Old Town attractions” that could soon be on the regional drawing board.
Lane also envisions more signs of promise and prosperity at the same intersection, particularly if big box stores like Canadian Tire and Walmart and a mixture of automotive dealerships as well as RV and marine dealers set up shop.

But Lane’s ideas don’t stop there either.
“My dream is also to see a row of cottage industry furniture/wood manufacturers here,” said Lane, “selling willow caned furniture, wooden lawn chairs and modular log cabins in this vicinity.”
And “at the risk of short-term agitation,” Lane also suggested the intersection could be further enhanced by a set of traffic lights.
“It gives (motorists) one last chance to slow down and have a look at all the amenities the region has to offer.”
Lane’s vision for the region’s economic development also includes the renewal of the historic Old Town, complete with several retail sites as well as a replica of the Northwest Company trading post.
He said the many recreational opportunities in the region will be capped off when the Migration Research Centre opens in 2005.
The first $1.5 million cheque supporting that venture arrived last week.
Applauding the economic development officer’s all-encompassing plan, Reeve Sheila Foley bubbled.
“The vision you have is fantastic.”

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