Humboldt County Sheriff’s Deputies and other law enforcement agents found and eradicated a marijuana grow yesterday morning. Along with 8,473 marijuana plants, they found a dead fisher at the site. Fishers are currently being reviewed as candidates for the endangered species list.
At a separate event on Monday, agents found 7,521 marijuana plants at a grow site in Willow Creek, along with with 14 pounds of rodenticide, two dead deer and a dead bird.
Read the full press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office below:
On 07-29-2013, at approximately 7:00 a.m. Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Deputies, United States Forest Service (U.S.F.S.) Agents , Hoopa Valley Tribal Police ( H.V.T.P.) Officers and the Cannabis Eradication and Reclamation Team (C.E.R.T.) conducted an open field investigation and eradication of a large marijuana cultivation site below the Brushy Mountain Lookout on Friday Ridge, Willow Creek. Three civilian scientific researchers with a background in wildlife, toxicology and ecology were with the officers when they entered the marijuana site. The officers eradicated 7521 growing marijuana plants ranging in size from 4’ tall to 6’ tall. All the marijuana was being cultivated on United States Forest Service Land. While conducting the investigation the researchers and deputies located the following:
- 1230 lbs. dry fertilizer
- 28 lbs. liquid concentrated fertilizer
- 14 lbs. 2nd generation anticoagulant rodenticide bait
- enough to kill 2,246 woodrats or gray squirrels
- OR 12 fishers
- OR at least 4 spotted owls
- 32 oz. Carbaryl insecticide
- 32 oz. Carbofuran (banned chemical in United States due to its toxicity to people and wildlife)
a 1/4 to 1/8 teaspoon is enough to kill a 300-400[-pound] black bear.
Deputies also located fresh hot dogs strung from a tree on treble fish hooks, along with two dead
deer carcasses and a bird, a Hermit thrush. Officers also witnessed environmental damage to the
watershed.
On 07-31-2013, at approximately 7:00 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s Deputies, USFS Agents, H.V.T.P.
Officers and C.E.R.T. Officers conducted a marijuana investigation and eradication at another cultivation site located in the Supply Creek Watershed on the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation. The three researchers again accompanied the officers. The officers located and eradicated 8,473 growing marijuana plants ranging in size from 3’ to 6’ tall. Agents also found a recently deceased Fisher in the garden site. Fishers are currently under review by the State and Federal Government to be listed as an endangered species. The officers and researchers again found environmental damage to the area. The researchers took custody of the deceased Fisher and intend to conduct a necropsy on it to determine the exact cause of death. There was no obvious signs as to what killed it.
On 8-1-2013, at approximately 9:00 a.m. the same team listed above with the researchers went to a third marijuana cultivation site located at Le-Terron Flat, Orleans , which is USFS property. The officers located and eradicated 376 growing marijuana plants ranging in size from 3’ to 4’ tall. A total of 1942 lbs of dry fertilizer, 58 lbs of liquid concentrate fertilizer, 17 pounds of second generation anticoagulant rodenticide bait were removed in total from the three sites. The rodenticide by itself had the potential to kill 2,753 wood rats, 14 fishers and 5 spotted owls per the researchers. Many of these toxicants were near creeks. The investigation into those responsible for these marijuana grows is continuing. Anyone with information for the Sheriffs Office regarding this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Sheriffs Office at 707-445-7251 or the Sheriffs Office Crime Tip line at 707-268-2539.
This article appears in The Big Gift.
Sickening. Anyone who thinks illegally growing marijuana is “green,” and a victimless crime, should think again. It’s horrible. The victim is nature.
Anybody who thinks this is how every grower does it is ignorantly following steps taken by people to spread bad propaganda dissing on growers so the states and country can capatalize on a damn fine industry that no matter if they want to admit it or not want to join the industry themselves
i do not condone this action i merely am saying that no matter what industry ur in its gonna hurt someone or sumthing so instead of reporting on some dead squirrels how about oil fracking being done accross the united states that kills hundreds and harms millions just sayin at least theres growers that care enough to educate each other how bout tackling something thats worth it people
weak
Humsmkr — anyone who thinks that this isn’t a problem worth tackling is the ignorant one.
Unfortunately, Humsmkr, though squirrels would be bad enough, a fisher is NOT ‘some dead squirrels’. A fisher is another animal, whose population is losing ground, and suffering from our human sense of entitlement and our greed.
Legalizing it, regulating it, encouraging organic farms would be awesome. (Then agribusiness would step in ….) And I say this as a not-smoker.
Hey humsmkr, Propaganda is FALSE information, not actual truth. These irresponsible idiots using rodenticides to kill the wildlife indiscriminately and threatening the watershed that belongs to everyone, are REAL, and you know theyre not alone in this “damn fine industry” youre so proud of. Any Game warden or fish and wildlife officer would be able to show you plenty of reports and photos if your in doubt of that. Im not some anti-pot hard nose, but I do think its ignorant and stupid to minimalize and scoff at what is actually a problem, to think otherwise, well, it just reveals to the rest of us that youre not very concerned about our home or taking responsibility for its health, which is OUR health, so don’t throw fracking up as some fake-ass flag, like youre so concerned about the health and well being of people and their home.