Pubdate: Thu, 02 Jul 2015
Source: Ukiah Daily Journal, The (CA)
Copyright: 2015 The Ukiah Daily Journal
Contact: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/feedback
Website: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/581
Author: Adam Randall

SHERIFF ALLMAN SPEAKS IN SACRAMENTO AT 'FISH, FLOWS AND MARIJUANA GROWS'

SACRAMENTO - Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman was one of 10 who 
testified Wednesday morning at the state capitol about 'Fish, Flows 
and Marijuana Grows,' a hearing which allowed members of the Joint 
Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture to listen to testimony from 
state officials and field experts on the impacts of drought and 
marijuana grows, which have been said to be negatively affecting 
California's fisheries and natural resources.

"Our state is reeling in the fourth year of historic drought," said 
Sen. Mike McGuire, D-North Coast, who is also the chairman of the 
Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture. "We are facing a 
possible fishery disaster across California. Marijuana has seen 
explosive growth since the passage of Proposition 215, and it's 
sucking our rivers dry."

The proposition was conceived by voters in 1996 to decriminalize 
people who use marijuana for medical reasons at the consent of a 
doctor, or who cultivate for a medical need. Mendocino County 
currently regulates eligible medical marijuana cultivators at 25 
plants per parcel.

McGuire acknowledged the North Coast District produces the majority 
of marijuana in the United States, and has been largely unregulated 
for 20 years, while a minority population of growers are disregarding 
the environment to make a profit. That degradation is also killing 
fish and polluting many of California's waterways, and is being 
exacerbated because of the drought, according to McGuire.

"There is regulations for timber and ag crops, but none for 
marijuana," McGuire said.

Allman testified Wednesday to the environmental degradation the 
Mendocino County Sheriff's Office has seen out in the field caused by 
illegal marijuana grows, in addition to the recent "abusive" grows 
that were eradicated last week in Island Mountain.

Allman opened by offering a subtitle to the Fish, Flows and Marijuana 
Grows named hearing.

"Wildlife, Water and Weed, that's what we're seeing in Mendocino 
County," he said. "Very little has been done to regulate abusive 
marijuana grows."

During a press conference at the Sheriff's Office last Friday, Allman 
reported the Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity county sheriff's offices 
eradicated over 86,500 marijuana plants in what was named Operation 
Emerald Tri-County at Island Mountain June 22 through the 25th.

Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Healdsburg, who serves as vice-chairman of 
the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture, was in attendance 
during the beginning of the Island Mountain raids and said he found 
the experience to be "absolutely shocking."

"The amount of water being diverted is absolutely staggering," Wood 
said. "We need to get a handle on this."

Allman estimated last Friday that over 500,000 gallons of water had 
been used each day to support the eradicated amount of pot at Island 
Mountain, and also noted the large amounts of trash and debris left 
behind by growers.

"We're continuing to see people who are pushing the envelope," Allman said.

Additionally, Allman said at the hearing he hopes that any 
legislation that may be handed down by the state will be made 
consistent across California so law enforcement officials aren't 
forced to interpret, since Proposition 215 has created a big "gray area."

While responding to a question about whether local law enforcement 
officers can enforce federal laws, Allman said only state and local 
laws are enforced by county sheriff's, but federal law enforcement 
officers are welcome to assist, as long as suspects are going to be 
prosecuted at the federal level.

"Sometimes they (federal officials) don't follow-up with what they've 
done, and we're often forced to prosecute federal cases at the local 
level," Allman said.

Hezekiah Allen, executive director of the Emerald Growers 
Association, followed Allman's testimony and said a disconnect still 
exists between policy makers and law enforcement.

"This industry has been in the shadows for a long time," Allen said. 
"The war on drugs has not only failed us, but created this situation. 
This is commercial agriculture. Regulate this please. We would rather 
pay taxes than fines."

Other testimony included two members from the California Department 
of Fish and Wildlife, who spoke on the loss of aquatic species, and 
the improper construction of man-made water resources.

Charlton Bonham, director of the CDFW, said the state could be 
looking at a potential commercial fishing disaster.

Bonham said 90 percent of returning Coho salmon was thought to have 
been lost last year in the Russian River tributaries, and Whirling 
Disease is affecting salmon hatcheries because of the drought.

Whirling Disease, which poses no threat to humans, is a parasite that 
establishes itself in streams and hatcheries and is nearly impossible 
to eradicate, according to the Montana Water Center's Whirling 
Disease Initiative. The parasite causes infected fish to swim in a 
whirling motion, making it difficult to escape predators and find 
food, while killing young fish directly.

"California is one of 25 biological mash-ups in the entire world," 
Bonham said. "We lead the nation in biodiversity, but sadly also lead 
the nation in the loss of biodiversity."

Bonham said in the past two years alone, the CDFW has had to "drop 
many other things we should be focusing on," to try and preserve the 
many affected species.

He added that at least 100 inspections have been done for marijuana 
by the department since January 2014, and the CDFW has been contacted 
24,000 times in the last year on reports of illegal water usage. 
These statistics have eaten up 20,000 hours of departmental manpower 
including the CDFW's law enforcement division, according to Bonham.

CDFW Lt. DeWayne Little said in the past five to 10 years, there has 
been a steady increase in marijuana cultivations across the state, 
now up to approximately 50,000 total grows, which have contributed to 
water diversions during low flow periods, pollution involving 
fertilizers and pesticides, and the conversion or privatization of 
large amounts of land.

Little said at Island Mountain last week, there were numerous sites 
of new pond constructions that "weren't properly built and prone to 
disaster with the next significant rainfall."

Little added there was no buffering on the man-made ponds or 
reservoirs, and any significant discharge in water would lead to 
massive sediment going into the Eel River. Little also noted other 
ponds in the same area with significant diversions of streams, 
improper road construction and the burying of stream channels.

One of McGuire's last remarks of the hearing was the acknowledgement 
of possible marijuana legalization enacted by voters in 2016, but 
significant resources are still needed to address the damages caused 
in the past 20 years.

"Our communities and environment are paying the price," McGuire said. 
"Individuals who want recreational (marijuana) use will likely have 
their say in 2016, but I think it would be wrong to have no 
regulatory framework in place."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom