LAKE COUNTY ? Whereas many people are for legalizing marijuana there is a dark side in regard to the illegal growing of cannabis on our public lands.
In a just released document by the State Bureau Narcotics Enforcement, Lake County had the second highest number of marijuana plants confiscated in the state. So far this year the law enforcement agencies have confiscated 506,506 plants in the county. The leading county was Shasta County where 557,862 plants were eradicated. Mendocino County had 440,689 plants seized.
The damage done to wildlife, streams and the environment by the illegal growers runs into the millions of dollars. Wildlife are killed and streams are dammed up plus tons of garbage are left in the marijuana gardens.
The Lake County Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee will host a public meeting titled “The Illegal Marijuana Production and its Impacts on Fish and Wildlife Resources in Lake and Mendocino Counties.” The meeting will be on Nov. 19 starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Lake County Board of Supervisors Chambers, located at 255 N. Forbes St. in Lakeport.
According to Fish and Wildlife Advisory Committee chairman Greg Giusti, the principal speakers will be Rich Burns and Gary Sharp of the Bureau of Land Management. They will review more than 20 years of experience dealing with the impacts of clean-up costs and rehabilitation of destroyed habitat on public lands. Also on the agenda will be Steve Brooks and Rod Mitchell of the Lake County Sheriff”s office as well as representatives from the U.S. Forest Service.
“In general terms, we have all heard anecdotal stories for years regarding the illicit cultivation of marijuana and the associated impacts with poaching, poisons, fertilizers and stream diversions on public lands. This will be the first time (maybe in the State) that the topic will be discussed in a public forum. My personal hopes are that we can write up this information and present it to the Board of Supervisors of Lake and Mendocino counties as a white paper so that they can forward it to the Department of Fish and Game and the Department of Justice in Sacramento to bring more money to the problem,” Giusti said.
The meeting is open to the public and free. More information about the meeting can be obtained by calling Giusti at 263-6838.
