THEBACHA/FORT SMITH - An idea for a new world-class tourist attraction is being discussed in Fort Smith.

The concept might see a viewing site for two whooping crane nests built on Salt River First Nation (SRFN) reserve land west of the community.

Mike Beaver, an SRFN councillor, said the idea has a lot of tourism potential.

"We need something like that, especially in Fort Smith," he said.

The viewing site would be a band project, but the idea has been discussed with Wood Buffalo National Park.

Beaver said the park may help with project funding, if it ever goes ahead.

A flock of whooping cranes, an endangered species, returns to the area of the park each summer to nest. The size of the flock varies with the survival rate of chicks and the survival rate during migration, but is estimated at about 266.

The viewing site would be located north of Highway 5 along Little Buffalo River, about 50 km west of Fort Smith.

A bluff in that area overlooks a large area of marshland where two pairs of whooping cranes have been nesting for a couple of years.

The idea is to build a walking trail to the bluff where people would be able to view the whooping cranes from a distance through a high-powered scope.

"It's been the seed of an idea that's been growing," said Mike Keizer, the communications manager with Wood Buffalo National Park.

Keizer said the details of what the viewing site would look like have still to be worked out.

The park spokesperson said, while any project would have to be done very carefully so as not to disturb the whooping cranes, it has the potential to be a major tourist attraction, especially for birdwatchers.

Keizer said there would be nothing like it anywhere else in the world.

"If we can do this and do it with all the right safeguards in place for the band and the cranes, I think it can be huge," said Keizer, who is also chair of the Fort Smith Tourism Advisory Board.

The whooping crane nesting sites in Wood Buffalo itself are in a remote northern section of the park. That area is closed to hikers.

Keizer said it is hoped that the band and the park would work on the project in some kind of joint venture

Beaver said the project may involve the construction of a short road followed by a hiking trail.

The SRFN councillor also said the project would have to be done very carefully to protect the whooping cranes.

"We don't want to disturb them," he said.

For example, Beaver said people might only be taken into the viewing site on guided tours.

"That way, it will be a lot safer, I think," he said.

Beaver said, if everything goes well and funding is obtained, work on the project might even begin this fall, after the whooping cranes have left for their wintering grounds in Texas.