MK Delta Lands development threatens Burns Bog, Canada

Background:

Burns Bog is the largest raised peat bog on the west coast of North America. It was originally about 4000

hectares (10,000 acres). Dr. David Bellamy, UK, visited Burns Bog in the 1970s and then again 1995. Inspired by

what he described as the “largest piece of environmental “software” on the west coast of North America”, he

raised the need for Burns Bog to be protected in his keynote speech at the International Peat Congress,

Edinburgh, Scotland. This resulted in resolutions calling for Burns Bog to become a Ramsar Site and to be

either purchased or expropriated.

In December 2003, then BC Premier Gordon Campbell, announced that 5,500 acres of Burns Bog would be

bought for $78 million. In 2004, 2000 hectares (5,000 acres) of Burns Bog were purchased from the owner, Jack

Matthews, for $73 million CDN by four levels of government. This included the Canadian Federal Government,

the Province of British Columbia, the Corporation of Delta, and GVRD, now Metro Vancouver.

Jack Matthews left $5 million CDN on the table and kept 227 hectares (500 acres) of Burns Bog situated on the

lagg zone. He refused to sell it to the purchasers. This piece of the bog has since been known as the “missing

500 acres”.

There was an attempt by the Corporation of Delta to bypass a public hearing and get Metro Vancouver to

approve changing the designation of 89 acres at the bottom of 72nd Avenue and Highway 91, Delta from

“Resource Study Area” to residential and commercial. Metro Vancouver voted down the Corporation of Delta’s

request and told the Corporation to follow due process and hold a public hearing. This has not happened. MK

Delta Lands Group has temporarily withdrawn their application.

Following the purchase of the 2000 hectares (5000 acres), the Burns Bog Conservation Society sent a survey to

the 30,000 households in Delta. Ninety-three percent of the people who responded to the survey wanted the

Society to find ways to save the “missing 500 acres” from the Conservation Area.

Respondents to the survey were very passionate. They described the development on Burns Bog as

“outrageous”, and described how “…too much of the original bog has already been lost, and as much as

possible should be saved”. One person said “We must preserve this land! It is for our children’s future!”, while

another exclaimed that “We must stop the constant decaying actions of the “only a little bit” mentality! A

“little bit” of destruction is not ok!” In 2012, Burns Bog became a Ramsar site as part of the Fraser River Delta

Ramsar Site. The “missing 500 acres” was left out of the Ramsar site.

Current Situation:

The owner of the “missing 500 acres”, Jack Matthews, whose headquarters is located in Dallas, Texas, USA,

created a new company, the MK Delta Lands Group, by partnering with the Kerbel family from Ontario. The MK

Delta Lands Group’s original development plan was situated on the lagg at the bottom of 72nd Avenue and

Highway 91, Delta, BC, on a parcel of land zoned as “Conservation and Recreation” according to the 2014

amendment of the Metro Vancouver Regional Growth Strategy. The plan started with 1400 houses, a retail,

commercial site and office section. Following opposition from the Burns Bog Conservation Society and the

public, the MK Delta Lands Group re-submitted a new application to have the zoning of their land changed.

Their new plan was to build a residential and commercial area encompassing 450 town houses, 650

apartments, and a 130,000 square feet retail space. The local community is extremely opposed to this

development. The Society has over 1800 names on an online petition and over 6000 names on print petitions

opposing the development.

In January, 2015 the MK Delta Lands Group asked the Corporation of Delta to put their original development

application on hold. They then indicated a different area of the “missing 500 acres” that they want to build on.

This area is inside the lagg zone, just south of the South Fraser Perimeter Road and Highway 91. See Figure 1

for details. Exact details of the new development will not emerge until the MK Delta Lands Group submit their

formal application in the next 2 – 3 weeks. The new development is proposed to take place on the red Lot 4

area. The green Lot A area will be given to the conservation area to act as an “environmental buffer” around

the site.

According to the Burns Bog Ecosystem Review (2000), this area is part of the bog’s “lagg zone”, the transitional

area between the bog and the outside environment. Figure 2 is taken from the Burns Bog Ecosystem Review

(2000). This map lists the area (circled in red) as having “several attributes supporting, but not required for the

viability of the Bog”.

The proposed “environmental buffer” is listed on the map as the “approximate boundary between zone 1 (the

central bog) and 2 (the lagg)”. Could this function as an adequate buffer as they propose?

The most recent zoning map for the site was amended by the Greater Vancouver Regional District Board in

September 2014 as part of the Metro Vancouver Regional Growth Strategy (Figure 3). On this map, Lot 4 is

listed as agricultural land as far north as the South Fraser Perimeter Road, and the land extending towards the

Fraser River is listed as Industrial. This contradicts the MK Delta Lands Group’s assertion in their letter to the

Corporation of Delta, where they falsely claimed all of Lot 4 is listed as industrial. Lot A, the supposed

“environmental buffer”, is listed as a conservation and recreation area, as is the site for their first housing and

retail area east of Highway 91.

Lot 4 cannot be used for any industrial, retail, or housing development according to the regional land use

designations from the Regional Growth Strategy (2014). The designations allow the following activities in the

zoned areas listed:

Agricultural

Agricultural areas are intended

primarily for agricultural uses,

facilities and supporting services

with an emphasis on food

production where appropriate.

These areas reinforce provincial

and local objectives to protect the

agricultural land base of the

region.

Conservation and Recreation

Conservation and Recreation areas

are intended to protect significant

ecological and recreation assets,

including: drinking watersheds,

conservation areas, wildlife

management areas and ecological

reserves, forests, wetlands,

riparian corridors, major parks and

recreation areas, ski hills and

other tourist recreation areas.

Industrial

Industrial areas are primarily

intended for heavy and light

industrial activities, and

appropriate accessory uses.

Limited commercial uses that

support industrial activities are

appropriate. Residential uses are

not intended (Metro Vancouver

Regional Growth Strategy, 2014).

As yet, we do not know what MK Delta Lands plan to use the area for. Their application will be submitted in the

coming weeks.

It raises a number of pressing concerns:

The lagg zone supports the internal bog and acts as a transitional zone between the bog and the

outside environment. The water chemistry in this area is transitional; less acidic than the water inside

the bog, but more acidic than the water outside. Losing the lagg could have consequences for the

overall hydrology, chemistry, and floral diversity of Burns Bog.

There are a number of questions about the supposed “environmental buffer” between the

development and the Bog. How would this prevent damage to Burns Bog? Why would there only be a

buffer on the south of Lot 4, but no buffer to the West?

What kind of activities do they propose in this area? Noise, light, dust, and all other activities

associated with the construction could damage the flora and fauna within the Bog.

Over the years, Burns Bog has also built up a global reputation as a unique and important ecosystem. Dr. Catherine O’Connell, Chief Executive of the Irish Peatland Conservation Council describes the Bog as “unique in the world”, and considers it a “site of world heritage”. The Burns Bog Conservation Society was founded in 1988 in order to protect Burns Bog from a proposed development plan. Since then the organization has championed Burns Bog and sought to raise public awareness and understanding about the importance of peatlands. The Burns Bog Conservation Society has now become internationally recognised and regarded within the international scientific community as an important and special organisation. The Society hosts educational tours for local schools and universities. Prof. Laura Janara of the University of British Columbia describes how the tour “expanded the horizons” of her students. The Society also caters towards international visitors. Dr. Geraint Owen, Senior Lecturer in Geography at Swansea University, Wales, annually brings 36 students to the bog in order to show an experience unlike that found in bogs in other parts of the world. Eliza Olson has been the president of the Burns Bog Conservation Society since it began in 1988. An ex-teacher, she works tirelessly to educate and inform the people of the Lower Mainland. In 2008, Eliza co-presented a poster along with Dr. Marcus Collier, University College, Dublin, Ireland at the International Peat Congress in Ireland. With her passion and commitment towards Burns Bog, Eliza has put the Society on a firm footing and expanded the scope and reach of its message. Originally from Ireland, Gerard Cowan holds an Environment and Resource Management MSc with a specialization in Climate and Water from VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Prior to that, he completed a BSc in History, Philosophy & Sociology of Science at University College, London, England. Gerard moved to Vancouver, Canada in 2012, and he has been working as a Researcher and Communications Assistant at the Burns Bog Conservation Society since June 2014. He grew up near several peatlands in Ireland, and jumped at the chance promote this valuable ecosystem. As the old Irish proverb goes; “you can take the man out of the bog, but you can’t take the bog out of the man”. Why is Burns Bog Important?

Burns Bog is an extremely rare - if not unique – ecosystem. It is a raised ombrotrophic peat bog situated in an urban environment in close proximity to an estuary. It is difficult to stress just how uncommon it is for a bog to possess these characteristics. Most bogs situated in urban areas have long

been developed on, so it is almost a miracle that such a large bog remains intact in an area as densely populated as the Lower Mainland.

Burns Bog purifies the air for the Lower Mainland. David Bellamy coined the famous phrase “the lungs of the Lower Mainland” in recognition of this.

Burns Bog is a vital habitat for many species of flora and fauna, and a stopover for many migratory birds.

Burns Bog acts as a carbon sink, sequestering carbon and helping to mitigate climate change.

Burns Bog stores and regulates water flow, helping to prevent flooding in the local area. Call to action: The Burns Bog Conservation Society has put together an online petition against MK Delta Lands Group’s proposed development on the Burns Bog lagg zone. Please click here to if you wish to support saving the bog from further harmful development. As was previously mentioned, four levels of government originally purchased Burns Bog with the expressed purpose of turning it into a conservation site. The scientific evidence strongly indicates that development on the lagg zone of a bog has a detrimental effect upon the hydrology and chemistry of the rest of the bog. If you want to remind the government bodies of their responsibility to this vital and unique ecosystem, please write a letter to the addresses below.

Mayor Lois E. Jackson, Delta Municipal Hall, 4500 Clarence Taylor Crescent, Delta, BC, Canada, V4K 3E2

Metro Vancouver 4330 Kingsway Burnaby, BC, Canada V5H 2A5

Hon. Mary Polak, MLA, BC Minister of EnvironmentOffice: Room 112, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, BC, Canada V8V 1X4

Constituency: 102 – 20611 Fraser Highway Langley, BC, Canada. V3A 4G4

Environment Canada The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of the Environment,

10 Wellington Street,

28th

Floor,

Gatineau,

Quebec,

Canada

K1A 0H3

Figure 1: Lot 4 and Lot A of the new development proposal

Figure 2: Lots 4 and Lot A are described as containing "several attributes supporting the viability of Burns Bog" (Burns Bog Ecosystem Review, 2000)

Figure 3: Map taken from the Metro Vancouver Regional Growth Strategy, amended September 19, 2014. The site labels were added by the Burns Bog Conservation Society.