Saskatoon bid for urban national park prepares for public consultation

Work to designate the Meewasin Valley as one of Canada’s first urban national parks continues with the launch of a new website to share details about the ongoing project.

The effort is part of a planned network of urban national parks across the country.

“At this point there are no specifics within the policy about what a national urban park is,” said Meewasin planning and conservation manager Mike Velonas.

“Part of our job is to help local authorities establish that.”

The Meewasin Valley comprises 67 square kilometres of land with more than 105 kilometres of trail and over 2 million trail visits per year, according to a Meewasin news release.

The urban park project includes representatives from Meewasin, Parks Canada, the Government of Saskatchewan, the City of Saskatoon, Corman Park, the Saskatoon Tribal Council, the Métis Nation, University of Saskatchewan and Wanuskewin.

Velonas said the newly launched website gives them a place to keep the public up to date on new developments, and will be used for more in-depth public consultation expected to begin in late 2023.

Designating the Meewasin Valley as an urban national park is an opportunity to bring the conversation about conservation to the next level, Velonas explained.

“I think the ability to elevate the awareness of the natural and cultural resources of this region beyond the scope of where they are today is a tantalizing prospect,” he said.

“Meewasin’s mission from day one has been to balance human use and conservation.”