Burns Bog - Delta, Bc
Burns Bog once covered about 10,000 acres but now has been whittled down to approximately 7000 acres. Located in Delta, Bc, the Bog has been nicknamed "Lungs of Vancouver" as the bog helps clean the air over a wide area.The Bog is home to variety of flora and fauna, majority of them found nowhere else in the Lower Mainland area. Burns Bog is home to approximately 22 species of raptors. It has 10 species of amphibians, 6 species of reptiles and up to 48 species of small mammals and several species of larger mammals. Mammals at Burns Bog include: red fox, black tailed deer, black bear, porcupine, bobcat, beaver, snowshoe hare, spotted skunk , the northwestern jumping mouse and the rare southern red-backed vole.
Sphagnum mosses form the base of Burns Bog and appear much like a thick carpet in various shades of green, red, and yellow on the Bog floor. The moss is acidic, poor in nutrients and holds water like a sponge. Plants in the Bog exhibit extremes of adaptation such as dwarfed pines, insect-eating plants and acid-producing mosses. This special community of bog plants is adapted to wet, acidic, and nutrient poor conditions. These plants can"t compete with vegetation in richer soils and other vegetation can"t compete in the bog.
About thirty per cent of the original bog area has been lost by development and more than half the remaining bog has been disturbed by human activities. The Bog is also isolated from adjacent natural ecosystems by urban, industrial and agricultural development. In March 2004, about 5000 acres of Burns Bog was purchased to be protected as the Burns Bog Ecological Conservancy Area. The four purchasing partners were the Province of British Columbia, the Greater Vancouver Regional District, the Corporation of Delta, and Canada. A legally binding conservation covenant was placed on the property to ensure that Burns Bog is protected and managed effectively as a natural ecosystem.