Celebrated for its pristine grasslands and historical and cultural significance, the Meewasin Northeast Swale could be heading for a heritage designation.

“The thing about that space is there is pristine, contiguous area of biodiversity. It has one of the last remaining parts of natural grasslands left intact that’s inside an urban environment,” said Lenore Swystun, chair of the city’s Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee.

On Monday, Swystun stoof before the city’s planning, development and community services committee making the case the designate the northeast swale as a heritage site.

“You can look at it from a heritage resource base, a heritage site or a heritage space, and you can identify the certain area and that makes up the statement of significance, making it worthy of some designation.”

Before it can be designated as a heritage site, discussions around borders for the swale need to be firmed up, Swystun said. Right urban development is skirting the southern border of the swale, but the northern border of the swale remains open to interpretation.

Mike Velonas, planning and conservation manager with Meewasin Valley Authority, says it’s difficult to draw a firm northern border, mostly because members of the MVA continue to discover unique natural spaces around the swale, such as a sharp-tailed grouse mating site.

“It’s something we discovered recently and there’s a line on the map and we found that lek after we established an informal line, so that shows how we’re continuing to mark that line,” Velonas said.

Velonas added MVA members are at the swale almost daily, studying the biodiversity and “tinkering” with the land to see how human interactions may affect the land.

The MVA also has a northeast swale master plan that’s been approved in partnership with the City of Saskatoon. It calls for walking trails, benches, signage and interpretive panels, similar to what currently exists on the MVA trails throughout the riverbank.

Representing the NSBA, research and policy analyst Andrew Shaw expressed concern over the heritage designation for the swale, saying it would jeopardize the current provincial plan for a perimeter highway.

“Designation of the swale as the heritage site would be a massive blow to the construction of the Saskatoon Freeway as it will infringe upon the preferred route previously confirmed by city council and the province,” Shaw said.

Swystun tells CTV News putting a heritage designation on the swale doesn’t mean the province and the city need to reroute the multi-billion-dollar perimeter highway. Swystun added the northern boundary can be changed following the heritage designation.

According to the MVA the swale is an ancient river channel about 26 kilometres long. It’s the result of the post-glacial South Saskatchewan River carving a path through the landscape.

City council will review this recommendation from the MHAC at the end of the month.