Over 1500 Plants Found on Unpermitted Grow In Larabee Creek Area, Says DEU

Cannabis marijuana garden

This is a press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. The information has not been proven in a court of law and any individuals described should be presumed innocent until proven guilty:

On Oct. 16, 2018, deputies with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) served one search warrant to investigate illegal commercial cannabis cultivation in the Southern Humboldt area. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Humboldt County Environmental Health and HAZMAT Unit and the Humboldt County Planning and Building Department assisted in the service of the warrant.

One parcel was investigated during the service of the warrant. The parcel, located on the 30,000 block of Alderpoint Road in the Larabee Creek watershed, did not possess the required county permit and state license to cultivate cannabis commercially.

During the service of the warrant, deputies eradicated approximately 1,518 growing cannabis plants. Deputies seized and destroyed over 85 pounds of processed cannabis and over 618 pounds of cannabis trim.
Assisting agencies found evidence of unpermitted grading, causing sediment pollution into Larabee Creek. Larabee Creek is an important breeding stream for salmonids, particularly steelhead salmon. While surveying the creek for sustained damages, environmental scientists located a foothill yellow-legged frog, which is an at-risk species currently protected under the California Endangered Species Act.
Assisting agencies found the following violations:

– Two stream crossing violations (up to $8,000 fine per day, per violation)
– Two water pollution violations (up to $20,000 fine per day, per violation)
– Commercial cannabis ordinance violations (up to $10,000 fine per day)
– Building without a permit violations (up to $10,000 fine per day, per violation)
– Grading without a permit violations (up to $10,000 fine per day, per violation)
– Streamside management violations

No arrests were made during the service of the warrant. Additional violations with civil fines are expected to be filed by the assisting agencies.

Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.Foothill Yellow-Legged Frog

Dirt piled by Larabee Creek

Fish in Larabee Creek

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Muddy Black Dodge
Guest
Muddy Black Dodge
5 years ago

Wow, appears they intended on letting the loose soil run off into the creek with the winter rains. Piles look to be less than 1′ from the edge of the creek. Lame!

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago

It’s not unusual to see this kind of potting soil in huge piles dumped in turnouts at certain times of the year. I have never understood why these people don’t recycle their potting soil. Although I mostly make my own from scratch in the first place, none ever leaves my place. I use it as a base then adding amendments to make more soil. It’s not like it goes bad. It’s just exhausted and needs recharging.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Guest

Just excavated top soil? If so it looks like great soil.

Dong Johnson
Guest
Dong Johnson
5 years ago

well pal, they didn’t care when the entire three hoops including the soil washed out to sea on that phillipsville grow that was literally in the eel riverbed.
if you think this is about the environment your wrong.
those damn frogs eat up all the salmon eggs, they are bad news and gotta go!

Susan Nolan
Guest
Susan Nolan
5 years ago
Reply to  Dong Johnson

Bullfrogs, which aren’t native here to Humboldt County but have been more or less accidentally introduced, do eat small salmon. The little thing in that picture is no problem.

Ridgerunner
Guest
Ridgerunner
5 years ago
Reply to  Dong Johnson

CDFW needs to bring back the pikeminnow (squawfish) derbies since were on the subject of invasive salmonid eaters! They might not be the biggest threat to Eel River salmonids but are they are the biggest predator if that makes since?….

Perspective
Guest
Perspective
5 years ago
Reply to  Ridgerunner

Cant even believe they outlawed that derby. Makes as much sense as the law that says you can’t store water from riparian without permit, BUT, you can draw all the water you want out of the water source as long as its not stored and no permit is required.

localwoman
Guest
localwoman
5 years ago
Reply to  Dong Johnson

How about all the trash that washed out too. I complained, but their was no money for the county to make.

Big Bang
Guest
5 years ago

Another grweed grow that rapes the nor-cal into the stoned age! But first, let’s piss and moan about frogs, and topsoil… Wake up my people! Weed gluttons will be the death of us all…

Shaka
Guest
Shaka
5 years ago

Frog pissed in his hand….

WC666
Guest
WC666
5 years ago

Aren’t steelhead trout ?

RT
Guest
RT
5 years ago
Reply to  WC666

Yes, steelhead are rainbow trout that run to the ocean. The term “salmonids” covers all species within the Family Salmonidae – trout, salmon, whitefish, char, grayling.

Justin Tyme
Guest
Justin Tyme
5 years ago

Sounds like a lot folks complained about the Phillipsville mess. I did as well, the Health Department, Planning Department and Fish and Game. Nothing was done. The trash was washed down the river. That place is still a mess!

Norville Rogers
Guest
Norville Rogers
5 years ago
Reply to  Justin Tyme

Jail time would be appropriate. Bye bye greedy black market criminals.

Perspective
Guest
Perspective
5 years ago
Reply to  Justin Tyme

Perfect example of how these agencies, including our own elected officials, have their heads inserted into their anal sphincter.

Joe smith
Guest
Joe smith
5 years ago

These code officers and fush and game are destroying gardens making huge messes..chipping up plastic.cutting main water lines that are just leaking out water out for days before the owner can find the leak..they cut up green houses…i helped clean up a busted grow and they did more harm while busting it than the garden that was there…

Joe smith
Guest
Joe smith
5 years ago

Remember…When they come to your gate…you must first ask for the officers oath and documents,and proof of jurisdiction..look it up….after that tell them that they are violatung your constitutional rights..and you have no contracts with statue agency or codes..Then heres the fun part…Make a man to man bill/ verbal contract..tell each officer by name that if he continues with the seach that you will charge him personally 100$ per second for violating your rights.by continuing the search that man will be entering a verbal contract.repete this to them 3 times calmly…..tell them you will file a claim on each person,personally, not their agency…now you created a legal bill on that man.this is just basic stuff .look up more info……also…tell them that you are only following thier orders because you are under duress….you dont have to listen to thier statutory system,there needs to be a injured party ..ask what man has a claim of an injured party..do not let them fool you into thier system…they will laugh and be mean and walk all over you but when you file a claim in common law court of record they will probably drop all charges and fine so you will drop the claim….

Jaekelopterus
Guest
Jaekelopterus
5 years ago
Reply to  Joe smith

No warrants are needed if the property is accessible by waterway. Rivers belong to the public, cops included. Look it up.

local observer
Guest
local observer
5 years ago
Reply to  Jaekelopterus

only if its falls under the definition of US Navigable Waters, but you can’t leave the water. I use it to fish the “private” stretch of the McCloud and some great local undisclosed locations that certain logging companies feel are private. river pak aquaman style. but DFW doesn’t need a warrant to go on your property.

Perspective
Guest
Perspective
5 years ago
Reply to  Joe smith

hahahahahaha! Good one. Next, tell us how we don’t need to pay taxes and we are sovereign. After that, please explain to us the earth is flat and we have all been lied to.

Signed

Sheeple

Jaekelopterus
Guest
Jaekelopterus
5 years ago
Reply to  Perspective

Sovereign Citizen tactics actually work quite well if you are so irritating that the cop just wants to leave.

local observer
Guest
local observer
5 years ago

another hit piece with false information form the DFW. the frog is not currently under protection or listed, they are currently petitioning to have it listed. but not for Humboldt or Del Norte were the frog, according to page 49 of their petition, is in abundant numbers, the most in the State.
http://www.fgc.ca.gov/CESA/Foothill_Yellow-Legged_Frog/FYLFpetition.pdf

local observer
Guest
local observer
5 years ago
Reply to  local observer

page 49. “The largest foothill yellow-legged frog populations in California are in the north coast range, with healthy populations scattered throughout the region. “

RT
Guest
RT
5 years ago
Reply to  local observer

No, you are wrong. Foothill Yellow-Legged frogs are a candidate species for listing under the State ESA and are currently midway through a 2 year status review. During a status review, the candidate species is treated as if listed. That said, the populations up north are in pretty good shape, it’s the central valley frogs that are in trouble. I would expect CDFW to parse-out distinct breeding areas and not list the frogs up here.

local observer
Guest
local observer
5 years ago
Reply to  RT

the petition which I provided a link to literally states that it won’t be listed in the north coast range due to its abundance. Larrabee creek is part of the north coast range. this raid was on Larrabee creek. therefore this frog is not listed or at risk at the subject location. I would assume the scientist is out of the Monterey Office and out of their area of expertise, if not, its pure propaganda.

HerpGirl
Guest
HerpGirl
5 years ago
Reply to  local observer

It is listed as a candidate species, which means it is protected under the California Endangered Species Act unless or until the Fish and Game Commission decides it doesn’t warrant listing and publishes a public notice similar to the one in the link below stating that they are removing it from the list of candidate species.
http://fgc.ca.gov/CESA/Foothill_Yellow-Legged_Frog/fylffindingscandidacy.pdf

RT
Guest
RT
5 years ago
Reply to  HerpGirl

Thanks HerpGirl for chiming in. Again, candidate species are treated as listed by CDFW until the status review is completed. I should know, I took a four-day FYLF workshop in May and conducted visual encounter surveys for FYLFs this past summer on fisheries restoration projects. If observed, you need to contact CDFW immediately for consultation and be granted an incidental take permit to move frogs.

Local Observer – I would expect that FYLFs up here will escape the listing if CDFW decides to break-out areas by distinct breeding populations. The workshop I took included a presentation on genetic analyses that showed populations up here had genetic diversity consistent with stable to expanding populations; whereas in Central Valley and south, results suggested major constrictions in genetic diversity.

local observer
Guest
local observer
5 years ago
Reply to  RT

it seems both of you miss my point. its not going to be listed up here and its not at risk up here as stated in the FYLF. and the subject location is up here. I have had numerous construction sites in the bay area where I have been required to install frog fences in dry creeks. we will not have to do that here. I have been to many grows and its never as bad as they claim it is in these press releases. I have also been to many logging operation sites. falsehoods are very dangerous and lasting.

Jaekelopterus
Guest
Jaekelopterus
5 years ago
Reply to  local observer

It’s better to have redundant safeguards than to allow a species to get wiped out due to bureaucratic red tape.

tech
Guest
tech
5 years ago
Reply to  Jaekelopterus

True, but that is not what we are dealing with here. These species do not need protection on the north coast. It is primarily central and southern California where they need protection because of all the industrial agriculture that has been allowed by the agencies down there. If CDFW pulled the shit they do up here in the rest of the state there would be a full on meltdown and explosion over it politically. “Heads would roll” as they say.

The yellow-legged frog will be listed to be protected statewide because CDFW is too lazy to determine the zones where they will not be protected and I don’t think any species has ever been given protection over there but not over here in layman’s terms. Plus the more species that are listed the more power they gain. Conflicting interest much?

The regulating agency comes out with its own science to increase their jurisdiction. This frog will be listed and used(exploited) to give CDFW further jurisdiction on private lands and projects. CDFW can’t say no to your project because that isn’t their job, as much as they want it to be, but they will trump up how “threatened” the species is to sink your project, bury science that they don’t agree with or isn’t convenient to them and what they want, or use protected species to jack up the cost of projects to make it cost prohibitive to continue.

All the while if you are Cal-trans you can do whatever the hell you want. Archeology sites? Bulldozed. Wetlands? Bulldozed. Sediment discharge from construction? Slap on the wrist. Look at the Highway 36 project. The division of water quality issued a 401 on the project that allowed them to log incredibly steep slopes in the middle of the winter all along and above watercourses. Where was their 1600 violation? Where is the county’s 1600 violation on all their roads that are failing into watersheds around the county? Where is the USFS’s 1600 violation for hundreds if not thousands of miles of road that are not being maintained and discharging into watersheds? Oh, that’s, right its the growers’ fault. Duh! So simple. Nothing to see here people. Do as we say not as we do.

If anyone thinks CDFW is about protecting wildlife and the environment, they are oh so wrong. It is nothing more than their power that they want to protect and grow. As always it is always about power and money, no matter what. Remember that if you can never figure out why something was done the way it was. Money & Power, Power & Money!

Environmental fascism is here and it comes with a CDFW badge, specifically a North coast office badge.

RT
Guest
RT
5 years ago
Reply to  local observer

I get your point and agree with you that the FYLF shouldnt be listed in northern Ca. My point is, a species is treated as listed while under status review, that is a fact, regardless if you disagree with the process. Yes you do have to install frog fences on inchannel projects up here! I installed several this summer for fish passage projects because we observed FYLF on pre project surveys near the project site.

Guest 54
Guest
Guest 54
5 years ago

Hey Mr. Smart environmentalist biologist guy , if the frog is endangered then don’t pick it up !!!