The future of Burns Bog, Canada: stakeholder participation or habitat decline?

Complex stakeholder pressure on peatlands is nothing new. Throughout history, peatlands have been looked upon as providers of socio-economic opportunities. Burns Bog in Vancouver, Canada is a good example of this. This Bog was utilised first by indigenous peoples and later it was partially used for sod peat production. These have been influential impacts ecologically, but Burns Bog has largely retained its hydrological integrity. Though now a cutover peatland, spontaneous regeneration has been rapid and has resulted in high species diversity. Today it has been identified as a unique peatland system in that it is located in both a Mediterranean climate zone and high population, urban setting. This urban growth has engulfed the regenerating peatland contributing to a plethora of new pressures and leading some to believe that the future is bleak. This paper will review the many socio-economic impacts on Burns Bog, as well as strategies for its conservation, stakeholder perceptions and policy implications.