On Wednesday morning, the Wilderness Committee delivered 830 letters to Manitoba Minister of Conservation Gord Mackintosh, urging a ban on peat mining in the province.

"People are concerned about our water and our climate," said Eric Reder, campaign director for the Wilderness Committee. "Manitobans see a solution to these looming environmental disasters, and banning peat mining is part of it."

Peat mining releases sediment and carbon into lakes, Reder said in a news release.

For the last two years, two projects on the shores of Lake Winnipeg have been awaiting approval. A third application is being sought in Hecla/Grindstone Provincial Park. Reder says a fourth could be coming within the city's watershed this year.