The future of McIntyre Creek may be determined by whoever is elected Oct 11.

So, on Thursday afternoon, the Friends of McIntyre Creek led a group of local election candidates through the area with the hope that by seeing the site first hand, they may be inclined to save it from development.

The organization invited members of the media and a handful of local candidates out to tour the proposed sites of the Porter Creek D subdivision and roads connecting Whistle Bend to the Alaska Highway, a development, which would see much of the forrested area cleared.

The tour was led by Gerry Steers, the Friends' vice-president, and Karen Baltgailis, the secretary of the Friends' board.

Candidates included the NDP's Kate White, Jean-Francois Des Lauriers and John Carney, Liberals Kerry Huff and Don Inverarity, and city councillor Doug Graham of the Yukon Party.

The Friends of McIntyre Creek and other opponents to the McIntyre Creek development project maintain that a connecting road through the area is unnecessary. They argue it would harm an area of natural beauty, disrupt a wildlife corridor and place private development in an area enjoyed by local outdoor enthusiasts.

On Wednesday afternoon, the group had walked the area for their "great mistake,” the planting of Day-Glo orange stakes throughout the area in a loose representation of the boundaries of the proposed development.

"Our feeling is that it is very difficult for people to visualize when people say there will be 350 or 400 lots put into this area, or when they say there would be a road across McIntyre Creek,” said Baltgailis.

"So the stakes will stay up for about a week and we have put up a sign with our phone number on it in case anyone wants to contact us with their questions.”

The tour moved toward McIntyre Creek, where the candidates were shown the proposed site of the new bridge and damage from ATV use in the area.

A fence has been erected on the far side of the creek and the Yukon Fish and Game Association has planted tiny saplings all along the creek side to combat erosion and block unwanted traffic.

"This shows how much people care about the area,” said Baltgailis. " That they would put this much effort in to build a proper fence to try to preserve the vegetation, the soil. This is what we are trying to protect.”

Beyond the creek, the city is planning an approximately 30-metre-wide clearing on all sides for the construction of the road to the proposed site of the subdivision. Here, all parties were given the opportunity to discuss their stance on the issue.

Steers believes the area could be maintained as a public park.

"The city keeps providing their steadfast points of view without taking other people's opinions into consideration,” said Steers. "I was in Toronto recently, which is a nightmare, but they have an area called Glen Rouge Park, which is a beautiful, huge area with a little river going through it and trees, and they didn't infill their area.

"If big cities can have beautiful parks that they maintain, how come out city is so narrow-minded that they can't see the value of the property to themselves and to wildlife and future generations?”

White also believes the area should be kept as a public use park.

"The one thing I always ask people is, ‘What is Vancouver's greatest asset? Stanley Park. It would be full of real estate but they had the foresight to protect it,” she said.

"Why can't we have a McIntyre Creek park? Why can't we look at that long-term goal and recognize that there is a value to quality of life? This could be a destination for the city.”

Inverarity believes more information must be made available to Whitehorse residents so the fate of the creek can be decided democratically.

"I have been on the record for years now stating that it is my desire and certainly our party's desire to protect this area,” said Inverarity.

"But ultimately, it is up to the citizens of the Yukon to decide what they want to do here, not just the politicians. Let's have some debate, let's have some discussion about this and let's make sure we protect it for future generations,” he said.

Graham believes further consultation with the city as well as with organizations like the department of wildlife, fish and game association and renewable resources are ongoing and should be allowed to continue before a decision on the fate of the creek is made.

"There are a number of things happening. We should not have preconceived notions otherwise because that's just not the way we've ever done it in the city but that's the way it is.

"As far as I am concerned, we should let the process continue and we will see where it goes,” Graham said.

"There is a lot of the public out there that disagree with these folk, so we have to listen to them as well. Until the planning is done and all the consultation is done, no decision should be made.”

According to the Friends of McIntrye Creek, the protection of the area is not just a hot button election issue, it's about protecting community assets for the future.

"You cannot take this area back once you mess it up,” said Steers. "We need to protect this, for ourselves, for the environment, for the future.”

McIntyre Creek is a major election issue in the city, particularly in the Porter Creek ridings.

The Liberal and NDP support the protection of the creek. The Yukon Party believes that it is an issue that will have to be closely addressed by the territorial government and the city of Whitehorse.

See commentary and letter