A Manitoba Christmas tree seller has been charged after provincial authorities allege he had been cutting down his trees illegally on Crown land.
Manitoba Natural Resources and Northern Development began investigating after getting tipped off that trees were being illegally harvested from a Crown land plantation north of Marchand.
They say conservation officers watched a man bringing trees out of the plantation last Tuesday.
The suspect, who has been charged under the Forest Act of Manitoba, told officers he was selling the trees at his business in Selkirk.
Officers seized 30 black spruce trees and a chainsaw. Another 18 trees that had been cut down but not yet removed were seized from the plantation.
In all, the province says 167 trees were cut and removed from the plantation, the majority of them between 20 and 30 feet tall, with only the tops removed.
If convicted, an individual faces a fine of up to $50,000 or up to six months in jail or both. A corporation faces fines of up to $250,000 for a first offence. In addition, there will be a requirement to pay provincial forestry dues, the province said in a release Tuesday.
The province says the illegally harvested trees were part of of a “valuable test area that grows high-quality trees for planting in forestry renewal projects across southern Manitoba.”
“The plantation’s missing and damaged trees are a significant loss that negatively impacts long-term sustainable forest management projects in southern Manitoba,” the province said in Tuesday’s release.
The seized trees have been donated to a Ukrainian church in Winnipeg to be given to newcomers this holiday season, the province said.