Burns Bog
Encyclopedia
The Burns Bog is the largest domed peat bog on the west coast of North America. It covers an area of about 40 square kilometres (15 sq mi) and occupies a quarter of Delta, British Columbia
, about 25 km (16 mi) southeast of downtown Vancouver
, and is bounded by BC Highway 10
on its south, the Annacis Highway on its east, and River Road, along the South Arm of the Fraser River
on its northwest. It is named after the former owner, Patrick Burns
of Burns Meat Packaging. Its indigenous name is Maqwum, or in proper Hunquminum orthography, Ma?qwem . The word simply means "bog" but may refer to a specific plant growing in the location as well.
The bog's ecosystem sustains a wide variety of flora and fauna, including 24 species of mammal and 150 bird species. Numerous zoning
codes have been enacted to protect the bog from development and retain its original state in hopes of preservation for future generations.
The bog is thought to be a major regulator of the region's climate, since there is no drainage and all the rain fall is ultimately evaporated. Highway 91 and flood control measures for nearby farms have cut off periodic flooding and drainage that previously fed into the bog.
The Burns Bog has black bears roaming freely.
According to Environment Canada
and other groups, the bog ecosystem is under threat from the proposed South Fraser Perimeter Road
.
The southern part of the bog contains a landfill
for the city of Vancouver.
people in the area. They practiced controlled burning of patches, which promoted the growth of a variety of berries including Vaccinium
(bog blueberries) and salal
berries. Berries provided an important supplement to their diet. Various plants such as Labrador tea
were used by First Nations people for medicinal uses.
Peat was mined from the area in the 1940s, leaving large holes and drainage ditches in the middle of the bog. During the second World War, the U.S. military sought to use the peat to refine magnesium for artillery shells.
Large scale peat harvesting stopped in the 1980s but resource extraction remained to be the official land use zoning of the majority of the bog until 2004. A small peat harvesting operation continues to operate on the south side of the bog. Before the establishment of the Burns Bog Ecological Reserve in 2004, only 60 acres (24 ha) of the bog were protected as the Delta Nature Reserve. Another 2300 acres (931 ha) of the bog were owned by Western Delta Lands Inc., which in the past had tried to develop the area but have been denied permission from the local and provincial authorities. The Burns Bog Conservation Society lobbied the province to buy the bog from the company, but in 1996 a $27.5 million offer was turned down by the Western Delta Lands owners, the McLaughlin family in Ontario, who also own Grouse Mountain
ski area.
In March 2004, 2042 hectares (5,045.9 acre) of Burns Bog was purchased to be protected as the Burns Bog Ecological Conservancy Area. The four purchasing partners are the Province of British Columbia, the Greater Vancouver Regional District, the Corporation of Delta, and Canada. A legally binding conservation covenant placed on the property will ensure Burns Bog is protected and managed effectively as a natural ecosystem. On behalf of all partners, the Greater Vancouver Regional District will act as the lead managing agency.
The bog has been the site of many serious fires, which can burn underground for months in the methane-rich peat. Major blazes occurred in 1977, 1990 (twice), 1994, 1996 and 2005. The 1996 fire covered Greater Vancouver in smoke and ash for two days, destroyed 170 ha (420.1 acre) and cost more than $200,000 to extinguish.
On September 11, 2005, a fire broke out near the south eastern edge of the bog with its smoke and ash being blown many kilometers, permeating the entire Lower Mainland and reaching all the way to Nanaimo
on Vancouver Island.
By the morning of September 14, the fire had expanded to 200 ha (494.2 acre).
Numerous large-scale fire-fighting techniques were employed to combat the huge blaze. Firebreaks were bulldozed and dikes were used to raise the water level in the hopes of extinguishing any of the fires that can burn underground for prolonged periods. The British Columbia fire service's Air Tanker Centre dispatched a fleet of air tankers to help extinguish the blaze, including four Firecats
, two Convair 580s and the Martin Mars water bombers, the world's two largest air tankers.
On September 19, the municipality of Delta announced that the fire was in the "mop-up stage". About 30 firefighters remained on the scene and were expected to begin withdrawal on Wednesday, September 21, with ongoing monitoring beyond that time .
A large fire started on May 29, 2007.
Burns Bog is owned and managed by the Province, Metro Vancouver, and the Corporation of Delta. A legally binding conservation covenant placed on the property will ensure that Burns Bog is protected, and managed effectively as a natural ecosystem. All levels of government have agreed to: "maintain in perpetuity a large, contiguous, undeveloped natural area for the purpose of protecting the flora and fauna that depend on the Bog; manage the Bog as a functional raised bog ecosystem as understood by the best science of the time; maintain the extent and integrity of the water mound and the peat that encloses it, and in particular the upper porous acrotelm, upon which the persistence of the ecosystem depends; and prevent any occupation or use of the Bog that will impair or interfere with the current state of the Bog or the Amenities..."
Metro Vancouver is the lead agency to ensure collaboration with all funding partners in the planning and management of the area, as defined in the Management Agreement. Burns Bog will be managed as an "Ecological Conservancy Area" or ECA. The priority will be ecological protection, not public use.
Delta, British Columbia
Delta is a district municipality in British Columbia, and forms part of Metro Vancouver. Located south of Richmond, it is bordered by the Fraser River to the north, the United States to the south and the city of Surrey to the east...
, about 25 km (16 mi) southeast of downtown Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, and is bounded by BC Highway 10
British Columbia provincial highway 10
Highway 10 is a minor east-west route through the southern portion of the Metro Vancouver. Highway 10 was first commissioned in 1953, following its current alignment from Ladner east to Scott Road in Delta/Surrey, then turning north onto Scott Road...
on its south, the Annacis Highway on its east, and River Road, along the South Arm of the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
on its northwest. It is named after the former owner, Patrick Burns
Patrick Burns (politician)
Patrick Burns was a Canadian rancher, meat packer, businessman, senator, and philanthropist.A self-made man, he built one of the world's largest integrated meat-packing empires, P. Burns & Co., and was one of the wealthiest Canadians of his time...
of Burns Meat Packaging. Its indigenous name is Maqwum, or in proper Hunquminum orthography, Ma?qwem . The word simply means "bog" but may refer to a specific plant growing in the location as well.
The bog's ecosystem sustains a wide variety of flora and fauna, including 24 species of mammal and 150 bird species. Numerous zoning
Zoning
Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
codes have been enacted to protect the bog from development and retain its original state in hopes of preservation for future generations.
The bog is thought to be a major regulator of the region's climate, since there is no drainage and all the rain fall is ultimately evaporated. Highway 91 and flood control measures for nearby farms have cut off periodic flooding and drainage that previously fed into the bog.
The Burns Bog has black bears roaming freely.
According to Environment Canada
Environment Canada
Environment Canada , legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment Canada (EC) (French: Environnement Canada), legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment...
and other groups, the bog ecosystem is under threat from the proposed South Fraser Perimeter Road
South fraser perimeter road
The South Fraser Perimeter Road is a $1.0 billion highway project for Metro Vancouver and is part of the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation's Gateway Program and is currently under construction.-Project scope and goals:...
.
The southern part of the bog contains a landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
for the city of Vancouver.
History
Burns Bog has traditionally been an important place for First NationsFirst Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
people in the area. They practiced controlled burning of patches, which promoted the growth of a variety of berries including Vaccinium
Vaccinium
Vaccinium is a genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the plant Family Ericaceae. The fruit of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry or whortleberry, lingonberry or cowberry, and huckleberry...
(bog blueberries) and salal
Salal
Gaultheria shallon is a leathery-leaved shrub in the heather family , native to western North America. In English it is known as salal, shallon, or in Britain simply Gaultheria.-Ecology:...
berries. Berries provided an important supplement to their diet. Various plants such as Labrador tea
Labrador tea
Labrador tea is a name commonly applied to three closely related species:* Rhododendron tomentosum ,...
were used by First Nations people for medicinal uses.
Peat was mined from the area in the 1940s, leaving large holes and drainage ditches in the middle of the bog. During the second World War, the U.S. military sought to use the peat to refine magnesium for artillery shells.
Large scale peat harvesting stopped in the 1980s but resource extraction remained to be the official land use zoning of the majority of the bog until 2004. A small peat harvesting operation continues to operate on the south side of the bog. Before the establishment of the Burns Bog Ecological Reserve in 2004, only 60 acres (24 ha) of the bog were protected as the Delta Nature Reserve. Another 2300 acres (931 ha) of the bog were owned by Western Delta Lands Inc., which in the past had tried to develop the area but have been denied permission from the local and provincial authorities. The Burns Bog Conservation Society lobbied the province to buy the bog from the company, but in 1996 a $27.5 million offer was turned down by the Western Delta Lands owners, the McLaughlin family in Ontario, who also own Grouse Mountain
Grouse Mountain
Grouse Mountain is one of the North Shore Mountains of the Pacific Ranges in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Exceeding 1,200 m in altitude at its peak, is the site of an alpine ski area in the winter season overlooking Greater Vancouver with four chairlifts facilitating 26 runs...
ski area.
In March 2004, 2042 hectares (5,045.9 acre) of Burns Bog was purchased to be protected as the Burns Bog Ecological Conservancy Area. The four purchasing partners are the Province of British Columbia, the Greater Vancouver Regional District, the Corporation of Delta, and Canada. A legally binding conservation covenant placed on the property will ensure Burns Bog is protected and managed effectively as a natural ecosystem. On behalf of all partners, the Greater Vancouver Regional District will act as the lead managing agency.
Notable fires
On September 11, 2005, a fire broke out near the south eastern edge of the bog with its smoke and ash being blown many kilometers, permeating the entire Lower Mainland and reaching all the way to Nanaimo
Nanaimo, British Columbia
Nanaimo is a city on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It has been dubbed the "Bathtub Racing Capital of the World" and "Harbour City". Nanaimo is also sometimes referred to as the "Hub City" because of its central location on Vancouver Island and due to the layout of the downtown...
on Vancouver Island.
By the morning of September 14, the fire had expanded to 200 ha (494.2 acre).
Numerous large-scale fire-fighting techniques were employed to combat the huge blaze. Firebreaks were bulldozed and dikes were used to raise the water level in the hopes of extinguishing any of the fires that can burn underground for prolonged periods. The British Columbia fire service's Air Tanker Centre dispatched a fleet of air tankers to help extinguish the blaze, including four Firecats
Conair Firecat
-References:* -External links:*...
, two Convair 580s and the Martin Mars water bombers, the world's two largest air tankers.
On September 19, the municipality of Delta announced that the fire was in the "mop-up stage". About 30 firefighters remained on the scene and were expected to begin withdrawal on Wednesday, September 21, with ongoing monitoring beyond that time .
A large fire started on May 29, 2007.
Ecological Protection
The four parties have completed the Burns Bog Ecological Conservancy Area Management Plan to effectively protect the special attributes of the Bog.Burns Bog is owned and managed by the Province, Metro Vancouver, and the Corporation of Delta. A legally binding conservation covenant placed on the property will ensure that Burns Bog is protected, and managed effectively as a natural ecosystem. All levels of government have agreed to: "maintain in perpetuity a large, contiguous, undeveloped natural area for the purpose of protecting the flora and fauna that depend on the Bog; manage the Bog as a functional raised bog ecosystem as understood by the best science of the time; maintain the extent and integrity of the water mound and the peat that encloses it, and in particular the upper porous acrotelm, upon which the persistence of the ecosystem depends; and prevent any occupation or use of the Bog that will impair or interfere with the current state of the Bog or the Amenities..."
Metro Vancouver is the lead agency to ensure collaboration with all funding partners in the planning and management of the area, as defined in the Management Agreement. Burns Bog will be managed as an "Ecological Conservancy Area" or ECA. The priority will be ecological protection, not public use.
External links
- Picture of Fire from Highway 91, Sep 11, 2005
- Burns Bog Conservation Society
- Burns Bog Conservation Society's blog
- Photographs from Burns Bog
- Satellite image (Google Maps)
- Joho Guide to Burns Bog
- The Corporation Of Delta, as one of the join managing owners of the bog, under the covenant The Burns Bog Management Plan, provides official information on the land's ownership and management policies.
