Pictured here is illegal cannabis growing at Anza Borrego Desert State Park. Photo from California State Parks

SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - California State Parks continues to combat illegal cannabis grows within and near state park properties through its Cannabis Watershed Protection Program (CWPP).

During the 2024 season, the Cannabis Watershed Protection Program’s special enforcement team led 16 operations in or near state parks’ properties resulting in seven arrests and the removal of 25,558 cannabis plants, 4,820 pounds of processed cannabis and 18 firearms. Numerous environmental crimes related to water diversion and water pollution were also documented.

“Illegal cannabis cultivation poses a serious threat to California's unmatched natural resources, and we continue to make progress identifying and eradicating grow sites in and around state parks,” said State Parks Director Armando Quintero. “The State Parks Cannabis Watershed Protection Program team will never stop working to protect these most valuable public lands and ensure their environments are safe for generations to come.”

At California’s largest state park, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, the enforcement team removed 4,672 cannabis plants, approximately 500 pounds of waste and 1,000 feet of irrigation line. The enforcement team works closely with both the Department of Justice’s Eradication and Prevention of Illicit Cannabis program and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force.

The state park units that the Cannabis Watershed Protection Program enforcement team led law enforcement operations in or around this year were Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Clear Lake State Park, Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park, Lake Oroville State Recreation Area, Onyx Ranch State Vehicle Recreation Area, Saddleback Butte State Park and Smithe Redwoods State Natural Reserve.

Additionally, the enforcement team and other Cannabis Watershed Protection Program staff fully remediated 23 historic grow sites occurring on state park property. These efforts resulted in the removal of approximately 16,000 pounds of waste, including 33,000 feet of plastic irrigation tubing and more than 600 pounds of fertilizer. The environmental impacts of these illicit grow operations can be devastating, such as polluting waterways and altering native ecosystems, and remediation is the first step in addressing effects they have on the landscape.