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LaMalfa Condemns Illegal Marijuana Grows on Federal Land

July 15, 2022

Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congressman Doug LaMalfa (R – Richvale) spoke on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to discuss the recent uptick in environmental crimes associated with illegal marijuana cultivation in Northern California. This comes as reports of California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) officers, Trinity County Sheriff's Office, Humboldt County Sheriff's Office, Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office, California National Guard, State Water Resources Control Board and CDFW environmental scientists collaborated in an investigation and discovered more than 150 environmental violations related to illegal grows. Many of these violations were directly impacting U.S. National Forests and included illegal water diversions, large scale illegal grading, sediment discharge to streams, water pollution of petroleum products and trash, and the use of outlawed rodenticides and pesticides.

"Last summer, I went to see firsthand the massive amount of organized crime and illegal cartel grow operations overwhelming Siskiyou County. Under the Biden Administration's open border policies, dangerous cartels are hiding under the cover of forested lands to cultivate their illegal products. Trash, illegal pesticides, human waste and fuel cover the ground that has been scraped bare of organic matter with nothing but dust left. Nothing about these organized criminal grows are legal. These grow sites are poisoning our magnificent natural landscape and compromising the safety of North State people. This level of criminality cannot be tolerated, President Biden must secure our southern border now and crack down on illegal grows," said Congressman LaMalfa.

Congressman LaMalfa previously lead a bipartisan group of lawmakers in introducing the Protecting Lands Against Narcotics Trafficking (PLANT) Act. This legislation provides resources to help local, state, and federal law enforcement eradicate illegal marijuana grows on public lands and establishes a fund to restore land that has been damaged by illegal cultivation activities.

Congressman Doug LaMalfa is a lifelong farmer representing California's First Congressional District, including Butte, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou and Tehama Counties.

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