our programs

Post Mountain Sediment Reduction Program (EPA 319 NPS)

Post Mountain, a small community nestled in the headwaters of the Federally Designated Wild and Scenic South Fork Trinity River, grapples with the consequences of poorly planned roads spanning 26 miles, which have led to significant sediment pollution detrimental to the river's ecology and federally listed fish species. Despite efforts by organizations like the EPA and the USDA Forest Service to address sediment sources, Post Mountain has languished for over two decades, characterized by minimal development and a predominant focus on unlicensed cannabis farming, thereby exacerbating environmental issues. Historically resistant to outside involvement, Post Mountain is now witnessing efforts to tackle environmental challenges and enhance civic engagement, including initiatives such as community cleanups and the Post Mountain Road Sediment Reduction Project, aimed at improving road quality and accessibility. Phase 1 of this project is focused on analyzing, planning, and obtaining necessary permits for implementing road improvements to reduce sediment sources, ensuring shovel-ready projects for funding, with active involvement from the Post Mountain PUD and community members to promote community engagement and water quality education.

CDFW CANNABIS RESTORATION GRANT PROGRAM

Implementing drought resilience strategies for cannabis farms in humboldt county

The Drought Resilience Program will directly address the environmental priority of sustainable water consumption on 17 farms through installing rainwater catchment systems, increasing water storage capacity, and/or hardening and improving irrigation, which will effectively improve on-farm drought resilience, and reduce direct impacts to water sources during low-flow periods. In total, these improvements will cumulatively increase storage capacity by 13.7 acre-feet, a 26% increase from baseline. None of these water improvements will be used to increase cultivation footprints, farm size, or number of licenses, but rather reduce or eliminate extraction from water resources during dry periods, and in some cases, convert farms to 100% water storage.

Provisional to Annual License Transitions for Trinity County Cultivators

The Provisional to Annual License Program will assist 72 Trinity cultivators in achieving an annual County and DCC license. The Trinity County Licensing Program-- which has been fraught with mismanagement, to the detriment of the environment and cultivators-- has been an exceptional challenge for cultivators to undergo despite the inarguable evidence that the unregulated market has caused significant ecological damage and unjust conditions for workers and personnel. The grant will provide professional help to small farmers to finalize annual licenses, including completing documentation for CEQA compliance and Special-Status Species Mitigation, and allow for a Technical Advisory Committee between CDFW, CFC, and the County to quickly resolve licensing obstacles that arise.

wildlife conscious certification

The Wildlife Conscious Certification is a collaboration between CFC, California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW), Cal Poly Humboldt, UC Berkeley Cannabis Research Center, International Cannabis Farmers Association, Mattole Valley Sungrown, Sunrise Mountain Farms, Huckleberry Hill Farms, East Mill Creek Farms, Elytra Farms, Emerald Queen Farms, and Swami Select. The WCC implements habitat enhancements, restoration, and removal of invasive species, among other applied conservation practices to promote native biodiversity on regional cannabis farms. The certification standards are scientifically robust, evidence-based, and adaptive with new data. Interested parties may submit comments, questions, or inquiries for participation to jackee@cannabisforconservation.org. WCC was awarded a grant from CDFW’s Cannabis Restoration Grant Program Watershed Remediation and Enhancement Fund to implement the pilot program over 18 months, from Spring 2022- Winter 2023. This program builds off of existing CA regulations for cultivation, and will serve as the gold standard for wildlife conservation on farms.

Flowra: Biological Consulting

CFC is a contractor for Flowra, a cannabis licensing firm in Weaverville, CA. We are a contracted Biological team responsible for on-farm Biological Resource Assessments, Special-Status Species Assessments, CEQA mitigation, invasive species control plans, and biological monitoring on cannabis farms in Northern California. Our Executive Director, Jackee Riccio, is a credentialed Trinity County Qualified Biologist. For more information, visit theflowraplatform.com

The Cannabis Removal on Public Lands Project (CROP)

CFC is a consultant to CROP Project. CROP addresses the issue of cannabis cultivation on public lands, known as “trespass grows”. Public lands include National Forests, BLM land, and designated Wilderness Areas. Trespass grows are extremely hazardous sites, and greatly jeopardize the ecosystems in which they exist. These sites harbor banned pesticides such as Carbofuran, Sarin-based Malathion, and Bromadiolone, chemical fertilizers, and heaps of trash. The pesticides are highly toxic, and are expensive and difficult to remove given the topography and remoteness of where most trespass grows exist. Given that 60% of California’s water originates from National Forests, contamination of watersheds threaten recipient communities and dependent wildlife. Reclamation of trespass grows is not only crucial for the conservation of wildlife, including ESA and CESA listed species including the Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) and the Pacific Fisher (Pekania pennanti), but also for the safety of communities in the vicinity of trespass grows, and users of public lands.

For more information, please visit cropproject.org

P a s t P r o j e c t s

Pack Horses for Conservation: Support for Public Land Trespass Grow Reclamation

Cannabis for Conservation collaborated with the Integral Ecology Research Center (IERC) to support reclamation of trespass grows on public lands. Our pack team participated on a reclamation in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, packing out trespass grow polyline that was diverting extensive amounts of water. We received a grant from the California Wildlands Grassroots Fund to complete this pack trip support. Check our Instagram link at the bottom of this page for photos and videos of this work.

PALLID BAT SAFE HARBOR AGREEMENT

Cannabis for Conservation is working with the California Department of Fish & Wildlife to manage and conserve Pallid bats on legal farms through the establishment of the cannabis industry’s first Safe Harbor Agreement. If you are a cultivator interested in being a host farm, please click here. This project is still underway, so stay tuned for more updates!

Farms for wild pollinators program

Cannabis for Conservation has teamed up with F.A.R.M.S. Inc and Pollinator Project Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon to create the Farms for Wild Pollinators Program to enhance pollinator habitat on cannabis farms. With pollinators in decline worldwide, our goal is to restore native pollinator-friendly plants on individual farms, create habitat connectivity between neighboring farms on a regional scale, and educate farmers about pollinator-friendly conservation and management practices. To view the FWP Program, please click here.