Smokin Moose
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex Moderator
With its beautiful lakes and forests, Lake County has the distinction of being a tourist destination, but it also has the dubious title of being the "Marijuana Capital of California."
Law enforcement agencies have confiscated more marijuana plants in Lake County that anywhere else in the state the last three years. Most of the illegal pot gardens are located in the Mendocino National Forest and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands.
According to the Department of Fish and Game (DFG), the illegal growing of marijuana on public lands is having a devastating impact on wildlife and the environment. Game warden Lt. Steve White told members of the Lake County Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee at their meeting last week that pot growers are killing off wildlife and polluting the streams and other sensitive woodlands.
According to White, the growers often divert streams to irrigate the marijuana, which results in wildlife being deprived of much-needed water. He said that at times the growers will run up to a mile of PVC pipe from springs to their gardens.
"They will dam up a small spring or creek and then divert it long distances to get the water to their crops. Another practice is to mix fertilizer with the water and the fertilizer they often use comes from Mexico and is actually banned in the United States because of it high toxicity level. This chemical will often kill small birds and other wildlife which drink out of the streams," White said.
"The streams will also get overloaded with nutrients from the fertilizer, which results in excessive weed growth."
White said because of the drought this year, many of the small streams will dry up and those that are left will be diverted for irrigation, which places wildlife at risk.
He also said that trash left by the growers is another major problem. When CAMP (Campaign Against Marijuana Planting) raids a marijuana garden, it often finds mountains of trash, including small bottles of propane, empty fertilizer sacks and other garbage. Because of the remoteness of the pot gardens, CAMP often requires a helicopter to remove the trash.
The workers will also set out mouse and rat traps to kill small birds and other small animals that eat the marijuana buds. They even use poison to kill wildlife that threaten their crops. In addition, the workers kill deer and other large animals for food.
According to White, most of the pot farms are located in remote areas of the national forest and on BLM lands in pristine areas where few people visit. The workers pack in 100-pound fertilizer bags and other supplies and camp near the plants. He said they are often armed with automatic weapons.
"The gardens are often miles from the nearest road and it's rare for the public to see the damage the growers do to the environment," White said.
According to Julie Lombard, Forest Service Law Enforcement patrol captain, growers can live in the national forest near their gardens for months at a time. She said that officers have come across these illegal camps, some of which include exercise facilities, tree houses, barbed wire fences and numerous firearms. These camps often contain cooking and sleeping areas within view of the cultivation site. Some camps have tents, hammocks and sleeping bags on the ground and have been found with large overhanging tarps as cover for the entire campsite.
Lombard said there are certain things to watch for that indicate marijuana is being grown in an area. They can include isolated tents in the forest where no recreational activity is present; the utilization of trailers with no evidence of recreational activities; a pattern of vehicular traffic or a particular vehicle seen in the same isolated area on a regular basis; and unusual structures located in remote forested areas with buckets, garden tools, fertilizer bags and black piping and trash scattered around.
She said if a private citizen comes upon something suspicious, don't enter the area, just leave and notify local law enforcement authorities immediately.
CAMP is a multi-law enforcement agency made up of local, state and federal law enforcement personnel. It was formed expressly to eradicate illegal marijuana farms. This practice has been extremely effective in Lake County, however, the problem is so great that only a small portion of the pot farms are ever found.
The problem is that there is no real answer to the destruction of national forests by the growers. Many of these growers are illegal immigrants who are arrested and turned over to immigration authorities, who deport them. They are often back in the same location within a matter of a few weeks.
Source: Lake County Record-Bee (Lakeport, CA)
Copyright: 2008 Record-Bee
Contact: editorial@record-bee.com
Website: Home - www.record-bee.com
Law enforcement agencies have confiscated more marijuana plants in Lake County that anywhere else in the state the last three years. Most of the illegal pot gardens are located in the Mendocino National Forest and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands.
According to the Department of Fish and Game (DFG), the illegal growing of marijuana on public lands is having a devastating impact on wildlife and the environment. Game warden Lt. Steve White told members of the Lake County Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee at their meeting last week that pot growers are killing off wildlife and polluting the streams and other sensitive woodlands.
According to White, the growers often divert streams to irrigate the marijuana, which results in wildlife being deprived of much-needed water. He said that at times the growers will run up to a mile of PVC pipe from springs to their gardens.
"They will dam up a small spring or creek and then divert it long distances to get the water to their crops. Another practice is to mix fertilizer with the water and the fertilizer they often use comes from Mexico and is actually banned in the United States because of it high toxicity level. This chemical will often kill small birds and other wildlife which drink out of the streams," White said.
"The streams will also get overloaded with nutrients from the fertilizer, which results in excessive weed growth."
White said because of the drought this year, many of the small streams will dry up and those that are left will be diverted for irrigation, which places wildlife at risk.
He also said that trash left by the growers is another major problem. When CAMP (Campaign Against Marijuana Planting) raids a marijuana garden, it often finds mountains of trash, including small bottles of propane, empty fertilizer sacks and other garbage. Because of the remoteness of the pot gardens, CAMP often requires a helicopter to remove the trash.
The workers will also set out mouse and rat traps to kill small birds and other small animals that eat the marijuana buds. They even use poison to kill wildlife that threaten their crops. In addition, the workers kill deer and other large animals for food.
According to White, most of the pot farms are located in remote areas of the national forest and on BLM lands in pristine areas where few people visit. The workers pack in 100-pound fertilizer bags and other supplies and camp near the plants. He said they are often armed with automatic weapons.
"The gardens are often miles from the nearest road and it's rare for the public to see the damage the growers do to the environment," White said.
According to Julie Lombard, Forest Service Law Enforcement patrol captain, growers can live in the national forest near their gardens for months at a time. She said that officers have come across these illegal camps, some of which include exercise facilities, tree houses, barbed wire fences and numerous firearms. These camps often contain cooking and sleeping areas within view of the cultivation site. Some camps have tents, hammocks and sleeping bags on the ground and have been found with large overhanging tarps as cover for the entire campsite.
Lombard said there are certain things to watch for that indicate marijuana is being grown in an area. They can include isolated tents in the forest where no recreational activity is present; the utilization of trailers with no evidence of recreational activities; a pattern of vehicular traffic or a particular vehicle seen in the same isolated area on a regular basis; and unusual structures located in remote forested areas with buckets, garden tools, fertilizer bags and black piping and trash scattered around.
She said if a private citizen comes upon something suspicious, don't enter the area, just leave and notify local law enforcement authorities immediately.
CAMP is a multi-law enforcement agency made up of local, state and federal law enforcement personnel. It was formed expressly to eradicate illegal marijuana farms. This practice has been extremely effective in Lake County, however, the problem is so great that only a small portion of the pot farms are ever found.
The problem is that there is no real answer to the destruction of national forests by the growers. Many of these growers are illegal immigrants who are arrested and turned over to immigration authorities, who deport them. They are often back in the same location within a matter of a few weeks.
Source: Lake County Record-Bee (Lakeport, CA)
Copyright: 2008 Record-Bee
Contact: editorial@record-bee.com
Website: Home - www.record-bee.com
