Pot and Salmon at Odds

Growing pot in California has gone from a rich source of convicts for the corporate prison system to the emerald poster child for balancing state tax shortages. Medical marijuana may be the cure for mismanaged state government, but the thousands of marijuana growing operations in Mendocino, Trinity and Humbolt counties in northern California have made it the largest cannibis growing region in the United States. But all those bushy plants need a lot of water.

The large number of growers and the sometimes haphazard cultivation is believed to be threatening the recovery of steelhead salmon there. The Eel River runs through the heart of the pot growing region and the third largest watershed in the state. Friends of the Eel River spokesperson said pot is the largest single business in terms of impact on the river.

The Green Rush has led to an explosion in the number of pot farms dotting the hillsides. The result has been more water being pulled from the streams, and more sediment, pesticides and fertilizer draining back in.

California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife said there is less water for the fish. Emerald Growers association representative said the rural area has become more suburbanized and the increased water use is also going to livestock, lawns, veggie gardens and showers. The growers association representative conceded that commercial marijuana growers were a big part of the problem. She said growing medical marijuana is legal under state law, but that there are no regulations overseeing how it is grown. Comparisons were made to regulations on logging and farming.

The Fish and Wildlife department said they don’t care what people grow. But they want to be able to issue permits for diverting water for agriculture to protect the coho salmon and steelheads. The drought in California will likely ramp up the pressure over water resources for salmon and revenue generating marijuana.