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A six-county symposium to talk about the problem of marijuana growing in Mendocino National Forest resulted in commitments across the board to work on eliminating commercial growing and the environmental damage it does to the forest.
Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman was a prime catalyst for the gathering at which there were representatives from a variety of federal and state agencies as well as from Mendocino, Lake, Tehama, Glenn, Colusa and Trinity counties - all of them bordering the Mendocino National Forest.
Allman was heartened afterwards at the buy-in he saw from all the state and federal agencies involved.
"Nobody said I don't want to go along with it,'" Allman said. He was excited about commitments made, for instance, by the Air National Guard for air support in eradication efforts and from the U.S. Forest Service for 30 federal police officers on the ground to help.
Allman also was pleased that U.S. Attorneys from both the northern and eastern districts in California promised to actively prosecute the cases of commercial operations and environmental damage.
The effort, now officially named Operation Full Court Press will include eradication, prosecution and public information, through the media. Allman said he hopes media attention to the new operation alone will cut back commercial growing in the forest by 10 to 15 percent.
An estimated 85 people gathered at the Hampton Inn in Ukiah (including supervisors Carre Brown, John McCowen and John
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Pinches as well as Rep. Mike Thompson by video link-up) and heard an all-too-familiar overview of the marijuana cultivation problem in the National Forest, a problem that became increasingly violent this year and which has led even the Forest Service to advise people not to wander out onto public lands during the pot harvest seasons. There was also a presentation by Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims who is a proponent of regional law enforcement efforts.
"It was 8 hours of productivity," Allman said of day-long meeting.
On Friday, representatives from the law enforcement agencies will meet in private to discuss time lines and strategies for Operation Full Court Press efforts in 2011, while Forest Service personnel will meet publicly at the Hampton Inn about the non-marijuana challenges in the forest including grazing and roads.
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: willitsnews.com
Author: Ukiah Daily Journal Staff
Contact: Aboutus - The Willits News
Copyright:2010 - The Willits News
Website:Forest pot problem the focus at day long Ukiah meeting - The Willits News
Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman was a prime catalyst for the gathering at which there were representatives from a variety of federal and state agencies as well as from Mendocino, Lake, Tehama, Glenn, Colusa and Trinity counties - all of them bordering the Mendocino National Forest.
Allman was heartened afterwards at the buy-in he saw from all the state and federal agencies involved.
"Nobody said I don't want to go along with it,'" Allman said. He was excited about commitments made, for instance, by the Air National Guard for air support in eradication efforts and from the U.S. Forest Service for 30 federal police officers on the ground to help.
Allman also was pleased that U.S. Attorneys from both the northern and eastern districts in California promised to actively prosecute the cases of commercial operations and environmental damage.
The effort, now officially named Operation Full Court Press will include eradication, prosecution and public information, through the media. Allman said he hopes media attention to the new operation alone will cut back commercial growing in the forest by 10 to 15 percent.
An estimated 85 people gathered at the Hampton Inn in Ukiah (including supervisors Carre Brown, John McCowen and John
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Pinches as well as Rep. Mike Thompson by video link-up) and heard an all-too-familiar overview of the marijuana cultivation problem in the National Forest, a problem that became increasingly violent this year and which has led even the Forest Service to advise people not to wander out onto public lands during the pot harvest seasons. There was also a presentation by Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims who is a proponent of regional law enforcement efforts.
"It was 8 hours of productivity," Allman said of day-long meeting.
On Friday, representatives from the law enforcement agencies will meet in private to discuss time lines and strategies for Operation Full Court Press efforts in 2011, while Forest Service personnel will meet publicly at the Hampton Inn about the non-marijuana challenges in the forest including grazing and roads.
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: willitsnews.com
Author: Ukiah Daily Journal Staff
Contact: Aboutus - The Willits News
Copyright:2010 - The Willits News
Website:Forest pot problem the focus at day long Ukiah meeting - The Willits News
