It was interesting to read about the problem of nitrate contamination in California ("Nitrate contamination spreading," March 14). I believe a retired game warden friend of mine has it correct when he says it's mainly due to illegal marijuana growing by Mexican drug cartels. Unfortunately, because of the spread of marijuana growers, Californians have lost safe access to much of the state.

In 2010, I was pheasant-hunting on public land in Solano County and came across a freshly harvested marijuana farm that had not been there the previous year. Earlier the same year, while hunting deer on Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve (BCCER), I came across the remains of a marijuana plot. On BCCER, the growers dug out a reservoir in the trees at the foot of the cliffs, where fertilizer could be mixed and drip-fed to the marijuana plants. There was no response from the Solano Sheriff's department about the Solano grove, but I did get a response from the California Department of Fish and Game.

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