Over thousands of years, sphagnum mosses, leaves and roots accumulate faster than they can be decomposed, and peat forms. Burns Bog is globally unique on the basis of its chemistry, form, flora and large size. Forty per cent of the original bog area has been lost by development and more than half the remaining bog has been disturbed by human activities. As well, the Bog is now isolated from adjacent natural ecosystems by urban, industrial and agricultural development. Sphagnum mosses form the base of Burns Bog and appear much like a thick carpet in various shades of green, red, and yellow on the Bog floor.
Sphagnum moss is an antibiotic.
Labrador tea grows prolifically. Its leaves make a tea which, for thousands of years was used by the Haida as a medicine for sore throats and colds. Besides moss in the Bog that most likely does not exist anywhere else in Canada, there are a variety of rare insect species, including two sub-arctic species of the Blue Darner dragonfly. Also residing in the Bog, are several nationally and provincially listed species of wildlife including the Pacific Water Shrew. Significant areas of undisturbed plant communities remain in Burns Bog.