Burns Bog is not Saved Melissa Beedle, Features Editor Burns Bog is becoming a hotspot for international peatland scientists aroynd the world, and yet many people, including Delta residents, still don’t know what Burns Bog is. Burns Bog, located in Delta, BC, is the largest undeveloped urban in North home to many rare and endangered species. For this reason, many inter- landmass America and national scholars are showing interest in studying the site. Most recently, Katherine O’Connell, Ph.D., director of the Irish Peatland Conservation Council, visited Burns Bog in an effort to raise international awareness about the importance of protecting bogs around the world. “Even when a bog is saved, it doesn’t mean it’s forever protected,” said O’Connell. “When people ask me what we will do when all the world’s bogs are saved, I say, “We will make sure they stay saved.” At one time, Irish bogs made up 17 percent of the land surface of Ireland. Today, only 19 percent of the original bogs remain in relative- ly intact condition. This has led to a huge national campaign to save the remaining Irish bogs. While in Ireland much is being done to pro- SEPUBMOEF 82/2000 tect the remaining bogs, Canadian governments have not taken such an active which is why O’Connell is working with the Burns Bog Conservation Society to raise peatland awareness. O’Connell isn’t the only interna- tional bog expert to visit Burns Bog. Irish scholar Jenny Fuller recently visited the bog after winning the Winston Churchill Travelling Scholarship, and was very impressed by the flora and fauna of the peat- land. “Once people actually under- stand what lives in bogs and what grows there and how everything interacts together, they understand why they’re important,” said Fuller. This international support could not come at a better time. In March of 2004, four levels of government (the Province of British Columbia, the Government of Canada, the Greater Vancouver Regional District, and the Corporation of Delta) bought more than 5,000 acres of Burns Bog for roughly $73 million. The remaining 422 acres have been left unprotected, in the private hands of MSW Dallas. According to a recent Burns Bog Ecosystem Review, these privately role, owned acres are some of the most precious of all because they are areas of “high habitat suitability.” These acres also happen to be the most ideal spot in BC for two provincially red-listed animals, the Pacific Water Shrew and the Southern Red-backed Vole—all the more reason to protect this land from further development. After purchasing Burns Bog, the government signed a protection covenant promising to protect the remainder of the bog, Covenants ate very common in property deal- ings and are used to restrict land use Bog peat harvesters for the purpose of preserving her- itage property. In the case of Burns Bog, our governments have signed a Eile eres contract that is supposed to prevent them from altering or doing any harm to the bog. But just like a mar- riage contract, covenants can be broken if all parties agree. In the past, these kinds of prom- ises have done little to protect parks and lands from being mined and logged. In July of 2004, the BC Liberals broke promises not to mine South Chilcotins Mountain Park. In response to heavy lobbying by BC’s powerful mining industry, and backed by the Teck Cominco cor- poration, the government sliced off 14,600 hectares from the popular park, which is home to grizzly bears, mountain goats, and bighorn sheep. This is just one example of our gov- ernment’s broken promises. In an effort to combat potential bog destruction, the Burns Bog Conservation Society has surveyed over 35,000 Lower Mainland resi- dents to determine public support. An impressive 93 percent voted to save all of Burns Bog at all costs. Burns Bog is now down to almost half of its original size. “What many people don’t realize is that bogs store more carbon than a rainforest, making them essential a to our ecosystem,” said Burns Bog Conservation Society Eliza Olson. president continued on page 18 OUNEPPPeSS | 17