Burns Bog, "the lungs of the Greater Vancouver Region," is home to a broad range of wildlife while being surrounded by Vancouver's suburban sprawl. Additionally, Burns Bog absorbs greenhouse gases and pollutants generated in the lower mainland. Nevertheless, nutty development schemes threaten the ecological integrity of this unique urban wilderness. Read more to learn about Burns Bog's unique ecosystem and how to "buy it back."

Buy Back Burns Bog Now!

Wilderness Committee Educational Report Vol.18 No.3 - Spring 1999

Burns Bog Facts

  • located in north Delta just south of the Fraser River.
  • 4,000 hectares (10,000 acres) in size, ten times larger than Stanley Park
  • largest tract of undeveloped land in Lower Mainland.
  • purifies our air, produces oxygen, stores carbon and absorbs excess rainfall (which lessens flooding).
  • evidence of repeated fires. The most recent fire, which burned about 160 hectares, occurred in 1996.
  • the largest domed peat bog on the west coast of the Americas - an internationally unique ecosystem.

    The Delta Nature Reserve

    The Delta Nature Reserve covers 148 acres (less than 2 percent of Burns Bog) and is located in the northeastern corner of the bog. The reserve has boardwalk trails and gives visitors a chance to see some of the unique and wonderful plants and animals of Burns Bog.

  • the highest point of the dome (5.5 metres above sea level) is just south of the centre of the bog; water flows north and south from there.
  • the bog contains fish habitat, including an historically significant salmon stream, Cougar Creek.
  • sphagnum moss is the bog's main plant species and occupies the central portion of the bog; pine woodland occurs just south of the core; the bog is ringed with mixed deciduous and coniferous forest.
  • other interesting plants in the bog include sundew (a small insect-eating plant), cloudberry (a unique plant species), the rare bog rosemary and crowberry, labrador tea, bog laurel, bog blueberry, huckleberry, pond lily, mushrooms, fungi and lichen, including fragile reindeer lichen that can grow to two feet high.
  • 24 species of mammals are known to use the bog. Bog animals include black bear, black-tailed deer, red fox, beaver, bobcat, coyote and spotted skunk.
  • 20 species of waterfowl, 18 species of raptors, 9 species of gulls, 9 species of shorebirds and 87 species of passerines and other birds are known to use the bog. The greater sandhill crane, found in the bog, is threatened with extirpation from the Lower Mainland. Other vulnerable bird species include the bald eagle, barn owl, great blue heron, gyrfalcon and peregrine falcon.
  • Burns Bog is home to some rare and beautiful species of insects, including the blue darner dragonfly, mariposa copper butterfly and a rare beetle (Beller's ground beetle).
  • 2,283 hectares (over one-half the bog) is owned by one private company, Delta Fraser Properties.
  • the City of Vancouver owns 627 hectares for use as a sanitary landfill (garbage dump).
  • the rest of the bog (about one-quarter) is owned by various public and private interests, including Delta School Board and the Fraser Harbour Commission.
  • the majority of the bog is zoned for agriculture and peat extraction.
  • 148 hectares (less than 2 percent of the bog) is currently protected, as the Delta Nature Reserve.

    • Photo credit: Don DeMille

    Photo credit: Don DeMille