By Dave Baxter Local Journalism Initiative A petition asking the province to put a halt to a proposed peat mine expansion near Lake Winnipeg has almost 1,000 signatures, as residents express concerns about the project and what damage it could bring to the community and to the lake. “Lake Winnipeg’s Washow Bay area, a vital ecosystem supporting diverse wildlife and local communities, is under threat from the expansion of peat mining operations,” reads a statement posted on a petition set up on Change.org in July by residents of the Washow Bay area. According to the petition, SunGro Horticulture, which operates several peat mines in Manitoba’s Washow Bay region on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg, is seeking environmental approval to mine an additional 8.5 square kilometres of wetlands over the…