The Department of National Defence says that unexploded bombs buried deep under the Mer Bleue bog pose no threat to the public. The WWII-era bombs are left over from when the bog was used as a drop zone for training of bombardiers in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

It is not known how many of the hundreds of bombs that were dropped on the bog during those years never exploded, but it could be dozens,

News that the bog is home to an unknown number of unexploded bombs was first obtained by the Ottawa Citizen through an Access to Information request.

The DND is downplaying the news, how-ever, explaining that the area in which the bombs are located is far from any hiking and X-country ski trails.

The nature of the area, being a bog, also makes it highly unlikely the bombs might suddenly explode. They are also buried deep underneath the surface.

The Mer Bleue bog was owned by the DND and used as a testing area until 1965 when it was turned over to the National Capital Commission (NCC) and became part of the Greenbelt.

Over the years, the NCC turned the Mer Bleue bog it into a conservation and recreation area, creating interpretive boardwalks, and hiking and X-country ski trails, mostly on the western extreme of the bog which is spread out over 3,500 hectares.

Thousands of people visit the bog every year.

The bog is also an important area for climate research and is designated as a provincially significant life and earth science area of natural and scientific interest.

It is the largest bog and natural area in Canada’s Capital Region and the second-largest bog in southern Ontario. As such, it is one of the most studied bogs in the world.

A permanent research station is located near the centre of the bog with instruments that keep track of the amount of carbon dioxide and methane that is being released by the wetland.

For more information about the bog, please visit ncc-ccn.gc.ca/places/mer-bleue..