Healing
HUMBOLDT WATERSHEDS
With CDFW Cannabis Restoration Grants By Hollie Ernest
is on the forefront of sustainable and environmentally friendly cannabis farming, the scars of harmful, illegal operations can linger long after they’re shut down, sometimes on public lands. Water diversion and pollutants can damage soil, rivers and fish for years to come. But thanks to a recent round of funding, the county is getting a boost in its efforts to restore crucial watersheds. In April of 2021, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife solicited grant proposals for watershed remediation and enhancement projects. Through CDFW’s Cannabis Restoration Grant Program there were $2 million ready to allocate to worthy recipients. This money comes from the tax paid on cannabis products through California’s Environmental Restoration and Protection Account. According to Maggie Massie, senior Environmental Scientist at CDFW, the tax “created a dedicated funding source that is continuous appropriation, to focus for the first five years on the cleanup, remediation, and restoration of environmental damage and watersheds affected by WHILE HUMBOLDT
ENVIRONMENT
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→ Redwood Creek. Photo by Eric Hongisto ↓ Before and after photos of cannabis restoration projects at Shasta County watersheds. Courtesy of California Department of Fish and Wildlife
HUMBOLDTCANNABISMAGAZINE.COM | SPRING 2022
cannabis cultivation and related activities.” This is a time of environmental reckoning with past cannabis cultivation, including the use of water diversion and pesticides, and these grants are crucial to restoring what has been degraded for decades. Public agencies, nonprofits and tribal governments are all eligible for the grants. After receiving seven proposals, CDFW awarded $966,649 to four exciting projects. “These awards ensure California’s vital biodiversity in priority watersheds is being enhanced and protected,” said Jeremy Valverde, CDFW’s Cannabis Program director. The approved projects vary in scope and concept. “We are committed to working with organizations of all sizes to support a variety of remediation projects that improve and sustain California’s delicate ecosystems throughout the state,” said Valverde. The Watershed Research and Training Center based in Hayfork received $172,691 to treat road sediment in the Barker Creek watershed. Barker Creek is northeast of Hayfork and drains into Hayfork Creek, which eventually runs into the South Fork of the Trinity River, a vital home for salmon, among other wildlife. The funds will be used to collect baseline data, develop plans and implement projects to reduce sediment impacts to anadromous fish populations in the watershed. The Integral Ecology Research Center (IERC) in Blue Lake will use a $388,855 grant to work with other local groups to remove trash, active water diversions, environmental contaminants and old infrastructure from illegal grow sites on public land. This project includes sites in Monterey and Trinity County. In 2017, IERC, whose stated goal is the “remediation and restoration of every last illegal cultivation site that remains,” was awarded a grant through the Cannabis Restoration Grant Program to remove refuse from 100 illegal grows on public land. Its efforts removed 148,000 pounds of trash, 727,000 feet of irrigation pipe, 83,000 pounds of fertilizer and 1,000 pounds of concentrated pesticide. Another grant went to the Salmonid Restoration Federation, based in Eureka. The amount of $277,936 will go towards designing, permitting and implementing a water storage and augmentation system for Redwood Creek in Humboldt
