[env-trinity] PPIC: Regulating Marijuana as a Crop (Humboldt Co. fish habitat map)

[Dan Bacher]

Bill

And 60,000 of  new almond acreage went in during 2015, during the peak  
of the drought.

dan
On May 10, 2016, at 1:51 PM, Kier Associates wrote:

> PPIC totally blew it on CA’s almond acreage with that ‘California  
> currently has more than 300,000 irrigated acres of almonds’ in the  
> article below
>
> CA has north of one million acres of almond trees, all irrigated.  
> Seehttps://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/California/Publications/Fruits_and_Nuts/201504almac.pdf
>
> Bill
> From: env-trinity [mailto:env-trinity-bounces at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us 
> ] On Behalf Of Sari Sommarstrom
> Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2016 12:44 PM
> To: env-trinity at velocipede.dcn.davis.ca.us
> Subject: [env-trinity] PPIC: Regulating Marijuana as a Crop  
> (Humboldt Co. fish habitat map)
>
> http://www.ppic.org/main/blog_detail.asp?i=2041&utm_source=The+PPIC+Blog&utm_campaign=002931f4f9-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_All&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1d97666088-002931f4f9-181945237
>
> <image001.png>
>
> Regulating Marijuana as a Crop
> VAN BUTSIC, PATRICK MURPHY MAY 09, 2016
> In the 20 years since marijuana was legalized for medical use in  
> California, it has become an increasingly legitimate crop in the  
> state’s agricultural landscape. Yet despite relatively steady  
> progress in moving marijuana cultivation out of the shadows,  
> important questions remain about the crop’s impact on water and the  
> environment, and whether the state can regulate these issues  
> successfully.
> Last year the state legislature passed laws designed to regulate  
> medical marijuana production. Should Californians vote to legalize  
> recreational marijuana use this fall, the state will need to take an  
> even more active role in regulating production, as argued in a  
> recent PPIC report.
> Marijuana growing has yet to move to large-scale production, but  
> that could change with shifts in state or federal laws. Both the  
> total amount of marijuana produced and number of cultivation sites  
> are difficult to estimate. An often cited but uncertain estimate is  
> that California has about 50,000 cultivation sites. A recent effort  
> to map grows in Humboldt County suggests that most have less than  
> 100 plants and typically cultivate less than one acre. These small  
> grows are usually located far from improved roads and often  
> scattered on steep slopes. Currently, only 7 percent of grows in  
> Humboldt County are on what could be considered prime agricultural  
> land.
> The biggest environmental concerns regarding marijuana cultivation— 
> or any agricultural commodity, for that matter—are water use,  
> deforestation, and water pollution. Given the small size of most  
> grows, marijuana production currently does not appear be a major  
> driver of deforestation in California, although building access  
> roads may cause erosion and fragment wildlife habitat.
> And although it has been reported to be a thirsty plant, recent  
> estimates of marijuana’s water use in Humboldt County—one of the  
> state’s biggest growing areas—suggest that under 2,000 acre feet a  
> year is used for that county’s entire crop. This is enough to  
> irrigate about 400 acres of almonds (for scale, California currently  
> has more than 300,000 irrigated acres of almonds). Some water used  
> for marijuana irrigation comes from headwater streams that are home  
> to sensitive species, and water use tends to increase in the fall  
> when these watersheds are most stressed. If the crop were to be  
> widely grown in drier areas, water impact might increase. Recent  
> proposals for large marijuana greenhouse operations in Southern  
> California desert communities also raise questions about water supply.
> State regulations have recently given regional water quality boards  
> and county governments better tools to manage marijuana growing. The  
> North Coast Regional Water Board has adopted regulations requiring  
> all marijuana operations over 2,000 square feet to enroll in a  
> program requiring monitoring and potential cleanup for water  
> discharge and diversions at existing marijuana operations. Humboldt  
> County has introduced one of the state’s first land use ordinances  
> for marijuana production, which limits cultivation size based on  
> zoning type and square footage of the parcel.
> The legal market for marijuana in California is likely to expand,  
> especially if voters approve recreational use this fall. This  
> presents both opportunities and challenges. The state can establish  
> rules that make access to the market contingent upon following  
> environmentally responsible and water-smart growing practices. The  
> challenge is that for the regulations to be meaningful, they must be  
> enforced. State and county officials will need to monitor the  
> location of grows and practices, and collect information that can  
> guide future policies to effectively reduce the crop’s impact on  
> land and water resources. Accomplishing that will require adequate  
> time and staff.
> <image002.jpg>
> LEARN MORE
> Read "California Streams Going to Pot from Marijuana Boom” (PPIC  
> blog, July 23, 2015)
> Visit the PPIC Water Policy Center
>
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