Illegal cannabis cultivation continues to pose threats to California’s fish and wildlife habitats through a wide variety of environmental impacts, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. CDFW teams documented thousands of pounds of trash and infrastructure, harmful chemicals, illegal water diversions, habitat destruction and even poaching at illicit grow sites in 2025.The public remains one of the best sources for reports of illegal cannabis cultivation activity on public lands. Concerned citizens - in one case, a hunter scouting for deer - alerted CDFW to several hidden cannabis grow operations last year that were negatively impacting natural resources."Some years ago we were hiking up on Cahuilla Mountain and came upon two pitbull dogs and tunnels in the br
