Coun. Samson Hartland is expressing concern after it became clear Monday night the Kwanlin Dün First Nation (KDFN) is not endorsing the city’s proposed Chadburn Lake Park Management Plan.

City planner Mike Ellis brought the plan forward for council’s consideration.

Hartland was quick to bring up the issue of consultation with First Nations governments – the Ta’an Kwach’an Council and Kwanlin Dün First Nation – whose traditional territory is in the city.

While the Ta’an have signed off on the report, the KDFN’s support does not show up in the document that would serve as a guide in managing the 7,550 hectares that would make up the large park space in Riverdale.

A parcel of Kwanlin Dün settlement land is located in the midst of the park with two other KDFN settlement parcels bordering the southern portion of the park.

Though the First Nation doesn’t have its name attached to the plan, both the city and First Nation maintain they continue to have a good working relationship.

Ellis explained at the meeting the Kwanlin Dün had initially been involved in planning, but had a different vision for how to approach the planning.

City manager Christine Smith noted some of the issues were resource-based, with the First Nation interested in more scientific-based studies of the area, for which there just aren’t enough resources.

Both the city and First Nation highlighted the upcoming Oct. 14 forum between the two governments as an example of their good working relationship.

KDFN spokeswoman Marie-Louise Boylan said planning – including the park management plan – is one of several items to be discussed at the forum.

“There’ll be more collaborative talk,” she said, after stressing the two governments have a good working relationship.

With council’s vote on the plan set for next week though, the document could be adopted before the meeting.

As it stands, though, the document has not been adopted yet, Boylan stressed.

Coun. Dan Boyd had suggested the vote be put off until council’s meeting on Oct. 17, following the intergovernmental forum with the First Nation, but could not get the support of council to delay it.

It was suggested by Coun. Rob Fendrick that Boyd could make a motion to defer the vote at next week’s meeting if he wants to pursue the delay further.

Meanwhile, Hartland said he would spend some time this week looking at the First Nation issue before he decides how he will vote on it.

While concerns remain about consultating the KDFN on the plan, the input opportunities offered to the general public were praised Monday night.

Keith Lay, head of Active Trails Whitehorse, addressed the city, congratulating officials on the work done to come up with the extensive plan for the Chadburn Lake area.

“We don’t think anyone can complain (that they did not) have input,” he said.

A total of seven events were hosted with approximately 500 people attending the sessions; 85 filled out surveys and 22 emails on the matter came in to city staff.

A number of changes were made from the initial draft plan to the final document that’s now proposed for adoption.

Among them are more details on fire abatement strategies coming directly from input offered by the territory’s forest management branch; the direction to assess the state of Rotary Cabins in the area which are currently in disrepair, but used by the endangered little brown bats as a roosting site; removal of an initiative that would have seen a paved trail around the Riverdale neighborhood because it is not strongly related to the park and would be expensive; and the possibility of renaming the park.

As Ellis explained on the potential renaming: “Lloyd Chadburn was a Canadian World War II war hero with no specific link to Whitehorse. Renaming parks to a traditional First Nations name is very common across Canada. The lake would retain the name.”

The plan outlines a total of 26 initiatives for the short-term (in the next two years), medium-term (two to five years) and long-term (five to 10 years).

The initiatives range from a dog-owner education program, to working with the Ta’an Kwach’an Council and KDFN to identify and inventory significant cultural sites, traditional sites and stories within the park, to the development of an accessible trail to Hidden Lake #1.

The initiatives fall under five goals including:

• promoting environmental health;

• promoting outdoor recreation;

• supporting community stewardship, education and partnerships;

• improving accountability, planning and management; and

• protecting and promoting cultural and heritage values.

The Chadburn Lake park is the largest of five regional parks that were identified in the city’s 2010 Official Community Plan.

“The park offers a variety of recreational uses, such as paddling, hiking, mountain biking, skiing and wildlife viewing,” Ellis stated in his report.

“It also contains environmentally sensitive areas, significant wildlife areas, and historically significant resources.

“City-wide amenities found in the park include Miles Canyon, Hidden Lakes, Long Lake, Canyon City and many others.”