Farmer fined in wild orchid case

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This article was published 22/12/2019 (2274 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A farmer near Vita convicted of cultivating farmland that was home to a rare orchid shouldn’t shoulder all the blame, a judge said.

Tobias Hershberger pleaded guilty to one count of violating the province’s Endangered Species and Ecosystems Act and was fined $1,000.

However, provincial court Judge Robert Heinrichs, who admitted until recently he hadn’t even heard of the act, said: “I think there is a bit of blame to go around here, beyond just Mr. Hershberger.”

The western prairie fringed orchid is recognized as an endangered species both provincially and nationally. The Rural Municipality of Stuartburn is the only confirmed place in Canada where the orchid grows.

Hershberger was charged in June, after conservation officers found he had cultivated a 10-acre area of his farmland where the orchids grow.

Hershberger and other members of an Ontario Amish community moved to the area in 2017, after purchasing 160 acres of land from the RM. Both Hershberger and RM officials said they were unaware of the cultivation ban at the time the land was sold.

Court was told conservation officials had advised Hershberger about the cultivation ban after the land was purchased, and only charged him after he went ahead and tilled the affected area.

“I’m not certain why conservation didn’t talk to the RM ahead of time and let them know,” Heinrichs said. “I’m not certain why they didn’t ask to put on some fencing or markers or something.”

Grant Driedger, Hershberger’s lawyer, argued the cultivation ban is tantamount to expropriation.

The ban “continues as long as the flower grows,” he said. “It’s a very, very significant impact not being able to use about 10 per cent of his farm.”

Manitoba Sustainable Development provided a written statement to court, saying rare species such as the western prairie fringed orchid rely on an undisturbed habitat to thrive.

“Manitoba has a significant global responsibility for the conservation and protection of the species,” it said.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca