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Last Remaining Bog in Greater Victoria area Gets New Lease on Life 
Conservation Work Underway at Rithet's Bog
Victoria, BC, September 10, 2002 - In the past 109 years, Rithet's Bog in Victoria's Saanich District experienced its fair share of close shaves. It was grazed, ditched and drained for agricultural use. At one time, its fate was nearly sealed by golf course developers. More recently, urban development has caused fluctuations in the supply of water to the 38-hectare bog. If left unchecked, inconsistent water levels would eventually destroy this last remaining bog in the Greater Victoria area.
A conservation partnership among the Corporation of the District of Saanich, Rithet's Bog Conservation Society, the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the country's leading wetland conservation company, Ducks Unlimited Canada, is ensuring a secure future for the wetland. Work started this week to install a small water control structure that will help maintain the bog's water level. A constant water level is essential to its continued health and the critically imperiled habitat it provides.
"There is development all the way around the bog. The hydrology has changed drastically," said Dan Buffett, a biologist with Ducks Unlimited Canada in Surrey. "When natural lands are replaced by urban lands, water can't penetrate surfaces like concrete, roofs and pavement to reach the soil where it's absorbed. As a result, water enters the bog at a faster rate and in greater volumes during rainfalls." These fluctuations are causing sphagnum moss, a common plant in thriving bogs, to disappear. This decay of essential bog habitat alarms members of the Rithet's Bog Conservation Society (RBCS).
"Although extensively disturbed, Rithet's still supports a rare forested bog community," said Sharon Hartwell, president of the RBCS. "Due to its size and the variety of the surrounding wetlands, it also provides a wide range of habitat for a number of rare plants and animals. People benefit from this quiet, green haven in the midst of a developed area. Thousands from all over Victoria walk the bog trail to enjoy the wildlife and reconnect with nature. Rithet's Bog is an asset to the entire community."
Over sixty species of birds have been observed at the bog. Between October and March, the seasonally flooded fields surrounding the bog provide wintering and migratory habitat for an estimated 200 to 300 birds each day. Deer, mink, otters and amphibians are known to use the bog. Two rare butterfly species are commonly seen during butterfly surveys.
The bog, like all wetlands, acts like a natural water filter that removes impurities from water. The restoration work at Rithet's Bog will re-integrate it into the Colquitz watershed. This means the water that flows downstream into the Colquitz river, a significant Coho salmon area, will be cleaner having moved through the bog.
Additional work on the bog includes willow tree removal to restore more open water to the bog. The actions will undoubtedly increase the value of the bog to local residents according to Gerald Fleming, coordinator of design and development with the District of Saanich.
"It's hard to believe when you look at it now, but people have said they used to skate here," said Fleming. "We want to restore the bog so that it can function naturally once more and retain its place on the landscape and in our lives."
For more than 60 years, Ducks Unlimited Canada has been conserving, restoring and managing wetlands for North America's wildlife. These habitats benefit other wildlife and people.
