Pubdate: Tue, 30 Jun 2015
Source: Chico Enterprise-Record (CA)
Copyright: 2015 Chico Enterprise-Record
Contact:  http://www.chicoer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/861
Note: Letters from newspaper's circulation area receive publishing priority
Author: Adam Randall, Ukiah Daily Journal

TRI-COUNTY POT RAIDS NET 86,578 PLANTS

Ukiah - "Emerald Tri-County," a marijuana raid that occurred last 
week at the junction of Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity counties, led 
to the eradication of 86,578 plants, Mendocino County Sheriff Tom 
Allman reported.

Allman opened a press conference Friday by conceding law enforcement 
hasn't paid much attention to the Island Mountain area, which is 
described as the original Emerald Triangle, but plans to go back in 
September for another round. The Humboldt and Trinity county 
sheriff's offices also participated in the eradication, which didn't 
include federal officials.

Between the start of the operation Monday to the end on Thursday, the 
MCSO reported it had eradicated 45,553 plants out of the total 
amount, the highest of any participating county. Also, the MCSO 
recorded the confiscation of 660 pounds of processed weed, along with 
six guns and nearly $9,000 in cash.

Mendocino County served nine search warrants, arrested three; 
Humboldt, seven warrants, arrested none; and Trinity served four 
warrants and arrested one.

"This was a complaint-driven investigation," Allman said. "We found 
this was the most abusive area between our three counties."

Mounds of trash in some poster-sized photos taken of the cultivation 
scenes depicted the degradation of the land Friday while Allman 
narrated the detrimental environmental impacts discovered by law 
enforcement officials.

The sheriff estimated 500,000 gallons of water was used per day just 
to sustain the plant count that was eradicated. An empty 
50,000-gallon water tank was also found, not including stream bed 
alterations, diversions, and unlawful ponds and reservoirs, said Lt. 
Chris Stoots, of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 
which also assisted at the scene during the week.

"Some of the areas had the most devastation that I've ever seen," 
Stoots said, adding he has been involved in marijuana eradications 
his entire seven years with CDFW. "The amount of water and tanks out 
there was unreal."

Stoots said the Eel River is situated just below the Island Mountain 
area, and it was dry, stagnant and full of moss in the marijuana 
growing area. No dead wildlife was observed except rodents which were 
being trapped among the grows, according to Stoots.

Allman said the marijuana at the location was considered to be adult 
plants in several "hoop-style greenhouses," or free-standing across 
the 12 miles of property. The warrants served were for open field 
searches and not the residences themselves, according to Allman.

Several "25 plant grows" were also taken down, because several 
adjoining properties of that plant count were connected to the same 
water lines as an attempt to fool law enforcement and bypass county 
regulations, according to Allman.

Except for one Bureau of Land Management property that yielded 11,000 
plants, Allman said the rest was on private lands, and did not appear 
to be trespass grows.

In addition to the National Guard providing a vehicle with five 
personnel to assist with the labor, the MCSO sent 12 law enforcement 
officers plus support, Humboldt had as many as 10 on the scene at one 
time, and Trinity provided two. Lake County also chipped in two officers.

Allman said he expects prosecutions to be handed down by the district 
attorney on the Mendocino County side, and continuing investigations 
may lead to more arrests.

The current cost of the eradication is unknown, but Allman expects 
the information to be available in his upcoming two-month review.

Casey O'Neill, from the Emerald Growers Association, also attended 
the press conference and said even though he didn't condone the 
involved parties' destructive behavior, growers and law enforcement 
need to work together so everyone can win.

"We are still in a broken paradigm," O'Neill said.

Allman described the bust as perhaps the largest since Operation 
Full-Court Press, a multi-year eradication effort in the Mendocino 
National Forest which yielded over 632,000 plants in its beginning 
stages in 2010-11.

"I have every reason to believe the growing will continue (at Island 
Mountain)," Allman said.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom