The Manitoba branch of the Wilderness Committee delivered 830 letters to Conservation Minister Gord Mackintosh on Wednesday urging the provincial government to ban peat mining.

The organization has collected the signatures of hundreds of Manitobans over the past few months who object a peat strip mine in Hecla/Grindstone Provincial Park.

The Committee says peat mining negatively affects water quality by releasing sediment into streams and creeks feeding Lake Winnipeg. The mining of peat also releases a tremendous storehouse of carbon, which contributes to climate change.

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

Two outstanding peat licence appeals are currently awaiting decisions on the shores of Lake Winnipeg. There are also two new peat licence applications pending, including the one in Hecla and Grindstone.