Illegal Cannabis Op Busted for Stealing Water from Famous Steelhead Rivers

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) recently announced a slew of recent busts of illegal marijuana busts—and they included eye-popping wildlife infractions impacting some of the Golden State’s most iconic rivers.

According to a Facebook post, “during the week of August 11, wildlife officers with the CDFW Cannabis Enforcement Program executed search warrants in the Ukiah and Laytonville areas of Mendocino County to investigate the illicit cultivation of cannabis with impacts on sensitive fish and wildlife habitat.”

Mendocino County is north of San Francisco and includes some of the best hunting and fishing access for sportsmen in the populous Bay Area. But it’s also, apparently, a serious hotspot for illegal marijuana grows, which “is an escalating problem in California’s national forests,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Illicit weed operations offer criminals a way to sidestep the state’s taxes and regulations. They can be found on both public and private lands.

During the week of October 11, CDFW officials helped serve 21 search warrants to eradicate 46,000 cannabis plants and destroy 13,600 pounds of processed cannabis. During the process, they confiscated 13 firearms, a stolen vehicle, and two poached blacktail deer, including a doe.

Perhaps most concerning about the recent bust is the fact that the illegal grows relied on “19 water diversions, one of which was occurring on state lands,” from some of the state’s most famous steelhead rivers: the Eel and the Russian rivers. The Russian River was once one of the premier steelhead fishing rivers in the world, but impacts from logging, dams, water diversions, and development have left it a remnant of its former self. Meanwhile, the Eel River remains a decent wild steelhead fishery and will soon have two major dams removed, potentially improving the fishery’s long-term health.

In total, the recent bust led to 213 Fish and Game Code violations relating to impacts to the Eel and Russian rivers. Unfortunately, the issue is not new. “The true crime here is the fact that [the illegal growers are] killing off basically America's public lands, killing off the wildlife, killing off our water," U.S. Forest Service law enforcement agent Kevin Mayer told NPR in 2019. “This is stuff that, you know, it's not gonna repair itself."

Feature image via CDFW Facebook.

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