Derek Neary
Northern News Services

NAHANNI BUTTE (Apr 09/99) - From fishing derbies to cabinet meetings.

North Nahanni Naturalist Lodge has accommodated all sorts of conferences, events and guests over its first 15 months of operation. This week alone, Premier Jim Antoine and his cabinet ministers are scheduled to meet there on Wednesday and Thursday. Then, a fishing derby is in the works for the weekend.

"We've had a pretty busy winter," said Loyal, who, along with his wife, Ria, is a majority owner of the lodge. "We had some training courses...we've also had people come up just to see the northern lights and to visit."

The resort, which opened in December, 1997, and is partly owned by the Liidlii Kue First Nation, the Nahanni Butte Dene Band and a number of private shareholders, can cater to a maximum of 24 guests. It employs nine people at present and more are expected to be hired for the summer, Loyal said.

During the winter, guests keep busy with skiing, skating and ice fishing and can warm up in the sauna. In the summer, activities such as fishing and hiking are promoted. A hot tub is to be installed by June, and a couple of guest cabins are slated to be built this summer as well, according to Loyal.

Ria said she's pleased with the business decisions they have made along the way.

"We were kind of going bare bones in the beginning, kind of rustic, but we changed our minds. You only have one chance at it so you might as well go all out," she said. "It's a little bit more than I imagined."

Although the Letchers have been in the tourism business through North Nahanni River Tours since 1993, they are still gleaning more knowledge about the industry.

"In six years, it's been a big learning curve. Every year we're learning more stuff," Loyal said.

Over a six-week period in February and March, they attended the Vancouver Outdoor Adventure Show and sportsman shows in Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto, all to promote the Lodge.

"A lot of our business comes from Alberta and B.C. because they're close, so we do a lot of marketing down there," Loyal said.

In May they plan to attend "Rendezvous Canada," a travel/trade show in Halifax, N.S. Next year, Loyal said he intends to participate in a few American shows as well.

Ria, who manages the lodge and North Nahanni River Tours, said she loves being at Cli Lake, but there's only one problem...

"I don't get to go there enough. I spend a lot of time in the office," she said. "I enjoy hosting the guests and cooking for them. You kind of get some joy out of it. People go away happy and full, and totally satisfied with their stay. That's really rewarding."

All in all, the venture has proven very fulfilling, Loyal concurred.

"It's something I enjoy doing. With my Renewable Resources background and my hunting -- I've trapped since I was a kid -- I enjoy being in the outdoors and dealing with visitors," he said.

As busy as things have been, he said he's confident the staff at the lodge have a firm grasp on how to keep things running smoothly. He's so sure of that, he returned to his former job as manager of forests with RWED this week.

"I enjoy doing that too. That's why I got into that field," he said. "I started out as a trainee on a fire crew and worked my way up. That's a very exciting position too."