Pubdate: Tue, 30 Jun 2015 Source: Chico Enterprise-Record (CA) Copyright: 2015 Chico Enterprise-Record Contact: http://www.chicoer.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/861 Note: Letters from newspaper's circulation area receive publishing priority Author: Adam Randall, Ukiah Daily Journal TRI-COUNTY POT RAIDS NET 86,578 PLANTS Ukiah - "Emerald Tri-County," a marijuana raid that occurred last week at the junction of Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity counties, led to the eradication of 86,578 plants, Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman reported. Allman opened a press conference Friday by conceding law enforcement hasn't paid much attention to the Island Mountain area, which is described as the original Emerald Triangle, but plans to go back in September for another round. The Humboldt and Trinity county sheriff's offices also participated in the eradication, which didn't include federal officials. Between the start of the operation Monday to the end on Thursday, the MCSO reported it had eradicated 45,553 plants out of the total amount, the highest of any participating county. Also, the MCSO recorded the confiscation of 660 pounds of processed weed, along with six guns and nearly $9,000 in cash. Mendocino County served nine search warrants, arrested three; Humboldt, seven warrants, arrested none; and Trinity served four warrants and arrested one. "This was a complaint-driven investigation," Allman said. "We found this was the most abusive area between our three counties." Mounds of trash in some poster-sized photos taken of the cultivation scenes depicted the degradation of the land Friday while Allman narrated the detrimental environmental impacts discovered by law enforcement officials. The sheriff estimated 500,000 gallons of water was used per day just to sustain the plant count that was eradicated. An empty 50,000-gallon water tank was also found, not including stream bed alterations, diversions, and unlawful ponds and reservoirs, said Lt. Chris Stoots, of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which also assisted at the scene during the week. "Some of the areas had the most devastation that I've ever seen," Stoots said, adding he has been involved in marijuana eradications his entire seven years with CDFW. "The amount of water and tanks out there was unreal." Stoots said the Eel River is situated just below the Island Mountain area, and it was dry, stagnant and full of moss in the marijuana growing area. No dead wildlife was observed except rodents which were being trapped among the grows, according to Stoots. Allman said the marijuana at the location was considered to be adult plants in several "hoop-style greenhouses," or free-standing across the 12 miles of property. The warrants served were for open field searches and not the residences themselves, according to Allman. Several "25 plant grows" were also taken down, because several adjoining properties of that plant count were connected to the same water lines as an attempt to fool law enforcement and bypass county regulations, according to Allman. Except for one Bureau of Land Management property that yielded 11,000 plants, Allman said the rest was on private lands, and did not appear to be trespass grows. In addition to the National Guard providing a vehicle with five personnel to assist with the labor, the MCSO sent 12 law enforcement officers plus support, Humboldt had as many as 10 on the scene at one time, and Trinity provided two. Lake County also chipped in two officers. Allman said he expects prosecutions to be handed down by the district attorney on the Mendocino County side, and continuing investigations may lead to more arrests. The current cost of the eradication is unknown, but Allman expects the information to be available in his upcoming two-month review. Casey O'Neill, from the Emerald Growers Association, also attended the press conference and said even though he didn't condone the involved parties' destructive behavior, growers and law enforcement need to work together so everyone can win. "We are still in a broken paradigm," O'Neill said. Allman described the bust as perhaps the largest since Operation Full-Court Press, a multi-year eradication effort in the Mendocino National Forest which yielded over 632,000 plants in its beginning stages in 2010-11. "I have every reason to believe the growing will continue (at Island Mountain)," Allman said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom