Reliable sources have informed the conservation movement that the Federal Government is refusing to put its fair share of cash on the table to buy Burns Bog.

Friday, May 5, 2000 marks one month since the release of the provincial governmentâs Burns Bog Ecosystem Review. Based on the reportâs findings, everyone expects to win protection for this biological treasure prior to the next federal and provincial elections. The Review recommends that protecting 90% of the Bog is "required for the ecological viability of the Bog", yet this rare ecosystem still stands on the brink of extinction.

After years of stalling, the Bogâs majority landowners, Delta Fraser Properties, are finally talking with the province and other stakeholders about a possible deal that would protect the Bog. The provincial government has retained Burns Bog Ecosystem Review Chair, Greg McDade Q.C., to continue negotiations with the landowners and other levels of government with the goal of saving the Bog. The Municipality of Delta and the Greater Vancouver Regional District strongly support full preservation.

Despite this progress toward a resolution the federal government is dragging its feet on its commitment to help save the Bog. While still talking with all participants in the process, the federal government is now adopting a "wait and see" approach. This approach is unacceptable. Without full federal participation, there will be no deal to save this endangered wetland.

If the current negotiations fall through, Delta Fraser Properties will continue to ditch and clearcut the Bog for cranberry farms. Such activity would deal the final blow to this 5,000-year-old ecosystem.

"I just cannot believe that the Federal government is playing games and acting so cheap. Does it take hundreds of people getting arrested like in Clayoquot Sound to get them to act?" said Paul George, Founder of Western Canada Wilderness Committee

"The time to act is now! With overwhelming public support and the united support of all of B.C.âs major environment groups behind Burns Bog, itâs unconscionable and political suicide for the federal government to refuse to cough up its share of the purchase price," asserted SPEC Director Paul Hundal.

"Urban settings have reduced our opportunity to encounter the wild. A bog is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth÷a magical cosmos in miniature. We need places where people, especially children, can experience the wonder of nature. Burns Bog is such a place and is beyond price," said David Suzuki.

A united front of conservation and environmental groups including the Burns Bog Conservation Society, SPEC, Greenpeace Canada, Federation of B.C. Naturalists, Sierra Club of B.C., West Coast Environmental Law, Sierra Legal Defense Fund, Burns Bog Action Network and WCWC call upon federal Environment Minister David Anderson and Prime Minister Jean Chretien to commit to the full preservation of Burns Bog and move forward expeditiously to settle this land use conflict.