Deep within Sacramento, officials found a marijuana grow right inside the Cosumnes River Preserve.
Fish and Wildlife wouldn’t say how this illegal operation was discovered, but they say the environmental violations were too long to list. Now they’re hunting for those at the top of this criminal enterprise.
15,000 marijuana plants were just part of the haul as Fish and Wildlife officers busted a massive black market grow operation, resulting in 11 arrests.
“It was definitely organized and definitely, I would say, more on the criminal syndicate side of things,” said Fish and Wildlife Assistant Chief Nate Arnold.
Arnold says the Cosumnes River Preserve is the perfect place for a criminal enterprise. The area is patrolled, but mainly from the roads.
“Unless you physically get on a hike, you’re not going to run necessarily into it,” said Arnold.
The bust took place on two parcels of land – one owned by Fish and Wildlife and the other owned by The Nature Conservancy, a Virginia-based charity.
“This is straight up black market marijuana that’s being grown and really hurting the farmers who are trying to do it the right way,” said Arnold.
For Ryan Ellis, who visits the Cosumnes River Preserve once week for the beauty and seclusion, this news was an eye-opener.
“This would be the place to do it. I think you can get far back enough to where you can get away with this for a while,” said Ellis.
Fish and Wildlife says the criminals had been here for several months poaching deer, diverting water for plants and dewatering streams to feed marijuana plants.
“We saw sites of things like illegal pesticides, fertilizers, combustible material, gasoline – those types of things. It just causes a tremendous environmental impact,” said Arnold.
The illegal operation has threatened some endangered species and now some nature lovers have concerns as well.
“You know I come out here sometimes when it’s dark, especially in the winter at 4 or 4:30, so it’s definitely something that needs to be taken care of,” said Jay Shear, another frequent visitor.
Fish and Wildlife say they bust three to five of these illegal operations a day.
