Pilgrims Unite for Burns Bog

Today at 1:30pm the walkways of the Alex Fraser bridge will be amass with people protesting the imminent construction of the South Fraser Perimeter Road (SFPR) through the ecologically sensitive Burns Bog. The Bog has been described by many as the "Lungs of the Lower Mainland". the bog, not only sequesters carbon emissions that cause climate destabilization but the bog cleans our air and water, provides habitat for many species, and plays an integral role in our local ecosystem.

The SFPR is being routed through valuable farmland and that has many in an uproar as well. The losses to agricultural land coupled with the undeniable negative ecological effects the road will have on Burns Bog has unified various groups and solidified their resolve to stop this contentious mega-project.

Recently the threat of construction through the bog was aided by two new bylaws passed by Mayor Lois E. Jackson and the Delta City Council. Bylaws 6827 and 6828 will remove environmental protection from two parcels of land, necessary for the construction of the SFPR by reclassifying them from Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) to industrial areas. This move has sparked contention because the land in question is important to the preservation of Burns Bog and is habitat for a subspecies of red-backed vole, that is unique to Burns Bog, as well as the endangered Pacific Water Shrew.

The pilgrimage follows a route from the Quizno's on Annacis Island, over the Alex Fraser Bridge, and through the Delta Nature Reserve. Rex Weyler, co-founder of Greenpeace is confirmed to speak alongside Alexandria Mitchell, the Copenhagen youth delegate, and Acharya Shrinath P. Dwivedi, president of Global Hindu Foundation. The afternoon won't all be walking and speeches though. The Singers of the Sacred Web and First Nations musicians Daughters of the Drum will be on hand to entertain the pilgrims.

for more information visit the website at http://pilgrimage2burnsbog.org/