Capital Press
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Friday, January 28, 2022
Volume 95, Number 4
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A MANY-HEADED MONSTER
Illegal marijuana’s devastating impacts on agriculture
AN ESTIMATED
TENS OF
THOUSANDS OF
PEOPLE WORK
ON ILLEGAL
MARIJUANA
OPERATIONS
STATEWIDE,
AND EXPERTS
SAY MANY ARE
VICTIMS OF
HUMAN TRAF-
FICKING, OR
SLAVERY.
Getty Images
‘It’s getting ridiculous’
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
K
LAMATH
COUNTY,
Ore. — On the drive
between his family’s cat-
tle ranch in Sprague River
and a grazing allotment
in the Black Hills, Jimmy Gallagher
pointed out what appeared to be illegal
marijuana grows along the road, one of
which had recently been raided by law
enforcement offi cers.
“They’re doing their damnedest,” he
said of local law enforcement, “but it’s
hard because they’re so outnumbered
and underfunded.”
Todd Fleisher, Gallagher’s brother-
in-law, agreed.
“It’s getting ridiculous,” Fleisher
said.
In the Black Hills, Gallagher stopped
beside the watering hole where his fam-
ily’s cattle drink. Last year, Gallagher
said, thieves stole water from this spot,
using trucks with 500-gallon tanks.
The theft was especially trouble-
some during last summer’s severe
drought.
Gallagher said he’s even more con-
cerned about his family’s safety.
The burgeoning illicit marijuana
industry has had devastating impacts
on rural Oregon and agriculture. Like
a many-headed hydra monster in Greek
mythology, illegal marijuana growers
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press
Kile Henrich/MET
Todd Fleisher, left, with brother-in-law Jimmy Galla-
gher, at Fleisher’s grazing allotment. The two say that
thieves believed to be associated with illegal mari-
juana production have stolen water from the cattle
watering hole.
Living conditions at an unlicensed
marijuana operation. In the cen-
ter lies the remains of a pig car-
cass workers had been carving for
food.
have stolen water, polluted the land and
water, violated land use laws, driven up
farmland prices, caused labor problems
and endangered citizens.
Although new state laws and added
funding are helping law offi cers wran-
gle the monster, farmers and commu-
nity leaders say more still needs to be
done.
See Marijuana, Page 11
Kile Henrich/MET
Kile Henrich/MET
Electrical wiring and cheaply built
structures at a grow site.
Marijuana plants at an illegal
grow operation.
WSDA: Farmers in one county stand to lose 11,000 acres to buff ers
Mandatory riparian buf-
fers sought by Gov. Jay
Inslee could take up more
than 11,000 acres of farm-
land in Skagit County and
nearly 5,000 acres in Lewis
County, according to the
Washington State Depart-
ment of Agriculture.
Skagit and Lewis coun-
ties are two productive farm
areas in Western Washing-
ton. The agriculture depart-
ment also estimated 80-foot
buff ers could claim 913
acres in Yakima County and
55 acres in Chelan County.
Although fewer acres
would be taken by buff ers
in those farm- and orchard-
rich Central Washington
counties, the converted land
would include ground now
producing high-value crops
such as pears, apples, hops
and mint.
The department’s esti-
mate illustrates the potential
reach of buff ers, but there
are too many unknowns to
pinpoint how much farm-
land would be lost, Wash-
ington State Dairy Feder-
ation policy director Jay
Gordon said Jan. 24.
The agriculture depart-
ment assumed buff ers
would start at the edge of
waterways, though Ins-
lee’s proposal opens the
way for setbacks that begin
at the edge of fl oodplains
and equal the height of
old-growth fi r trees, which
exceed 200 feet.
“It’s such a poorly
crafted bill,” Gordon said.
“I don’t know if I’ve seen
legislation this sloppy in 30
years.”
The governor’s offi ce
did not have an immediate
comment Jan. 24.
The governor worked
with tribes on the pro-
posed Lorraine Loomis Act,
named for the late chair-
woman of the Northwest
Indian Fisheries Commis-
sion. Under the act, land-
owners could be fi ned up to
$10,000 a day for not plant-
ing strips of trees on both
sides of waterways crossing
their property.
The Inslee administra-
tion and tribal leaders say
riparian buff ers are vital for
salmon and that voluntary
conservation programs are
insuffi cient. Environmental
organizations support the
bill.
See Buff er, Page 11
U.S. Supreme Court to revisit Clean Water Act wetlands authority
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Haraz N. Ghanbari/Associated Press File
Mike and Chantell Sackett of Priest Lake,
Idaho, stand in front of the Supreme
Court in Washington, D.C. Their legal dis-
pute with the federal government over
wetlands will be reviewed by the nation’s
highest court.
Farmers are counting on the
U.S. Supreme Court to clar-
ify the extent of federal Clean
Water Act authority now that the
justices have agreed to revisit
the controversial subject.
The nation’s highest court
will review an Idaho lawsuit
to determine which wetlands
should be regulated as “waters
of the U.S.” under that stat-
ute — a matter of longstanding
legal debate.
“You’ve just had a lot of con-
fusion in the courts over what
is a regulable wetland,” said
Damien Schiff , senior attorney
with the Pacifi c Legal Foun-
dation, a libertarian law fi rm.
“Because of that confusion, the
court was convinced to fi nally
try again.”
The agriculture industry is
strongly invested in the matter
because farms that come under
Clean Water Act jurisdiction
must comply with expensive
and time-consuming regulations
or face steep penalties.
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“At the end of the day, that
does mean the cost of business
goes up,” said Courtney Briggs,
senior director of congressio-
nal relations with the American
Farm Bureau Federation.
Under a revision to the
“waters of the U.S.” defi nition
proposed by the Biden admin-
istration, farmers would eff ec-
tively need to hire lawyers and
consultants to understand if
their property is a regulated wet-
land, Briggs said.
See Water, Page 11
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Capital Press