The Burns Bog Conservation Society is hoping to get enough signatures to stop the MK Delta Land and Pineland Peat developments on bog land.
The petition asks the federal government to enforce the Species At Risk Act, which is meant to prevent wildlife species from becoming extinct, on the two development areas around Burns Bog.
The MK Delta Land proposal would see 62.7 hectares at 7969 Highway 91 Connector removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve to be developed as industrial land. It would also see two properties along Highway 91, equalling 132.7 hectares, transferred to the City of Delta and added to the ALR to protect from future development.
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Pineland Peat Farms Ltd. is currently working with the Beedie Development Group to develop its nearly 65 hectare site at 5224 88 Street into an industrial business park.
According to Olsen, the idea for the petition came from a situation in La Prairie, Que., where the Species At Risk Act was applied to a proposed housing development in order to protect the western chorus frog in June 2016.
“It just took a little while for us to realize that it was a possibility here,” Olsen said.
Burns Bog is home to a number of vulnerable and endangered species, including the dun skipper butterfly, the Pacific water shrew, the barn owl and the black swift, which all fall under the Species At Risk federal registry.
The Conservation Society recently sent out a batch of petitions by mail to Sunshine Hills. Olsen is hoping they can get the petition to the entire City of Delta and beyond.
The petition can also be found at burnsbog.org.
