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." - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom