Northeast swale plan back before Saskatoon council

A plan to protect a wide swath of Prairie wilderness in the northeast section of the citywill be back before Saskatoon council on Monday.

The Northeast Swale is a 26 km tract of land, scraped over time by glaciers,that stretches fromPeturrson's Ravine in Saskatoon to the Rural Municipality of Aberdeen. Three hundredhectares lie within the city of Saskatoon limits.

It's considered a unique place in Prairie geography, especially for its grassland ecosystem of wetlandsand high levels of biodiversity. In the Meewasin Valley Authority plan it described the swale as containing, "a variety of environments including steep rocky ridges, rolling prairie, lush valleys, treed areas and ephemeral and semi-permanent wetlands."

But the area is under pressure as the city grows, especially withnew neighbourhood developmentsencroaching upon this part of the Prairieand proposed traffic infrastructure such as the North Commuter Parkway bridge and a proposed perimeter highway bridge.

The Meewasin Valley Authority has proposed a set of limitations to protect the swale, while also making it accessible to people.

The plan includestrails, boardwalks, parking, signs, fencing andlighting. It would also include facilities such as an outdoor education staging area. The total capital cost is estimated at $14 million.

But some say the plan doesn't go far enough. Writer and wilderness advocate Candace Savage wrote a letter to council dated Oct. 5,asking for the city to take a pause before deciding.

"The Northeast Swale is a biodiversity hotspot, Saskatoon's answer to Vancouver's Stanley Park, Calgary's Nose Hill and Toronto's Rouge Valley," Savage wrote. "So how can it be that this ecologically important landscape a place that everyone agrees is a priority for conservation is soon to be bisected by two major trafficarteries within a stone's throw of each other?"

Savage said she's concerned about several impacts on the ecosystem includinganimal collisions with vehicles, the introduction of invasive species and noise pollution among others. She wants the proposed perimeter highway location to be moved further east

On Monday, Council will be asked to approvetheMeewasinNortheastSwaleMasterPlan "inprinciple."

In the councilagenda, the Standing Policy Committee on Planning, Development and Community Services, which is recommending the plan, said if the plan is not accepted, "it would lead to significant uncertainty for the future conservation and use of the Swale."