Government and businesses will now begin working on some of the possibilities discussed at Wednesday's Carcross Summit, says Carcross-Tagish First Nation chief Mark Wedge.

In an interview following the conference at the Yukon Inn in Whitehorse, Wedge deemed the day's events a success.

Just as there were outcomes established from the first Carcross Summit held in October 2003, a list of outcomes to be worked on will be set up from this event, he said.

One of the outcomes from the first summit, which also brought together stakeholders interested in Carcross tourism, was to host a second conference.

The first event focused on what the vision for Carcross is and some of the first steps needed to establish the community as a tourism destination.

The vision under the memorandum of understanding signed by the first nation, White Pass and Yukon Route railway and the territory in January established the vision for Carcross as 'a sustainable year-round tourism destination where we celebrate and share the beauty and richness of our land, first nations culture and Gold Rush history.'

Yesterday's session looked at how to make the products and services, that would serve the tourism industry in Carcross, begin to happen, Wedge said.

'In terms of using some of the culture dancing, performers, carving, things like that. There's private individuals that have, maybe, heritage sites that could develop some of those areas,' Wedge said when asked what sort of products were looked at.

'There's different kinds of products in terms of some of the wilderness adventures; we heard about the wilderness guide program that's being offered with the college in partnership with the community.'

Yukon College started a guide program at its Carcross campus on Monday.

The focus on making Carcross a tourism destination is having a major impact on the community, Tracy Neuman, a human resources worker for the first nation, said in an interview following Wednesday's conference.

'It's inevitable, it's just going to boom,' she said of the area.

'And when it goes, you know, it's just going to boom out there. People have been waiting, knowing that this is going to happen. And now that we're on the verge, it's exciting, and people are trying to hop on the bandwagon.'

There's a constant flow of people coming into her office who want training for work that may come up or to find out what the latest initiatives are.

'A lot of our people have skills,' Neuman said. 'You know, one of my clients great in the bush, absolutely a great woodsman, a guide, a storyteller, but he doesn't have the skills (like) the wilderness first aid, the business background, you know, food safe, stuff like that.

'And he's in this (Yukon College guide) program, so that's what he's going to gain and he's going to have access to this business incubator.'

Since the first conference a business incubator has been set up. It's designed to assist new businesses getting started in Carcross.

'The intent of Caribou Crossing is not to, for perpetuity, deliver these programs, but it's to help get them started and then for operators to take them over and establish them as businesses,' Janet Lee explained after the conference. She is the CEO of the Four Mountains Resort proposed for Carcross and the business program.

Caribou Crossing will look at what it can offer new businesses in terms of administrative support, training, employing guides to be shared between tour companies, possibly providing an umbrella arrangement for liability insurance for guides, and 'whatever it takes to help get these businesses to a place where they can just be functioning,' Lee said.

Establishing a business can be difficult, Lee noted, pointing to issues of finding capital funds.

While some may need the assistance of the business incubator for a year, others might need it for longer.

The other option would be to phone up existing operators from outside the community or the Yukon, she noted.

'But what's the benefit to the community?' Lee questioned. 'So it's a tougher model, which is why you don't see it as often, it's more difficult, but it fits in with the (tourism) code and that's community benefits, local opportunity, creation of jobs, a made-in-Yukon solution.'

The code was developed following the 2003 conference.

Lee said having a business incubator and working on the overall plan for the area through events like the Carcross Summit are all part of developing the Four Mountains project.

Nobody visits a place simply to stay at a hotel, she pointed out.

'We slowed down over the past year,' she said of the resort.

After the Carcross-Tagish First Nation vote that turned down the proposed land claim and self-government agreements, she noted, there was some uncertainty to what the first nation's equity in the project would be.

The first nation has since held a referendum where members voted in favour of holding another vote on the land claims package.

Lee said the broader issue of Carcross being developed has been answered with the federal and territorial funds being allocated for work on the community's waterfront. Projections for the Four Mountains Resort also have to be verified.

'There's a body of research we have to do, but (we're) looking at having some things in place for this fall,' she said.

Lee believes the goal of having the hotel in operation in 2007 is achievable, though much of that will depend on what happens over the next few months.

'But you have to shoot for it,' she said of the 2007 date, though she added she's 'cautiously optimistic.'

The approximately 50 delegates at the conference heard of the various upcoming projects in Carcross like the resort and waterfront plans.

They were also informed by Michael Brandt, the White Pass and Yukon Route's vice-president, that charter trains will be making their way into Carcross this year with the possibility of scheduled service in 2006.

As work on various projects continues, Beverly Sembsmoen, the first nation's legislative development officer, said it's important for community members to know how to work together.

The first nation is waiting to hear about a $102,000 Community Development Fund application it submitted for conflict, communication and alternative dispute resolution training through the Justice Institute of B.C.

'The J.I. training can give the foundational building for our community,' Sembsmoen explained after the conference.

'And it's not separated by native and non-native. It's for everybody to work together in so when you throw things like $3 million into our community, people have the tools to do something constructive with it instead of fight over it.'

Land use planning will be critical, and it needs to be done by people in the area in a good way that doesn't cause hardship, she said.

The program would see 25 to 30 people take the training, then go on to assist the community in dealing with issues that come up.

'When you think about it, no progress can be made unless you're dealing with the conflicts in the community,' Sembsmoen said.

She's expecting the first nation will hear about whether the project has been approved for funding sometime within the next week.