Hilltops have been leveled to make room for the crop. Bulldozers start landslides on erosion-prone mountainsides. Road and dam construction clogs some streams with dislodged soil. Others are bled dry by diversions. Little water is left for salmon whose populations have been decimated by logging.
Wow! that is not the north coast range that i know.. most of the mountains are federally owned and there has been essentially no road building for a couple decades or "hilltops levelled to make room for the crop" on national forests. (the article says public lands, but i know where they are talking about)
As for "little water is left for salmon whose populations have been decimated by logging"... i call full-on baloney. The decimation of salmon is mostly due to high numbers offshore foreign trawlers depleting the stocks. The spawning areas are protected via no logging, dredge mining is banned, no road building, actually, many many roads have been decommissioned. Thanks for posting this article, i had no idea of the state of propaganda outside of the area about it.
The miniscule amount of clearing done on private land for marijuana is not even laughably close to a significant impact. A few acres maybe, as compared to thousands of acres near the coast that has been cleared to grow grapes, orchards, and pastures for cows.
Not much specific information about the fisher... they are rare, and mostly get caught when they invade abandoned cabins for the rodents, which often have warfarin used in them to reduce mice and rats. The claim that it happened due to marijuana grows is a bit of a stretch, given there is no link or details given. Makes good copy though.
i tend to agree with a few of the commenters:
First of all, I don't see any sources to officials claiming that the industry is damaging to the ecosystem, especially on the level of deforestation.
Secondly, there are other places to grow marijuana than in the middle of a forest. This picture of a crop tucked between a forest is probably a rare example.
Thirdly, I can't see why they would single out the marijuana industry here--there are hundred of other practices that damage the environment as well and are much worse. Generally development overall will damage the ecosystem, it has nothing to do with the marijuana industry specifically.
This article is really a disappointment considering the high standards the NYT sets for itself (or should).
and:
Not often I get my morning laugh from the NYTimes, so thank you. Yes, the most pressing threat to the environment is clearly marijuana farms! Not the major highway expansion 2 headlines down - everyone knows, highways are all wildlife-friendly, and pesticides are NEVER used to control weeds! Not new pipelines, to speed up the destruction of the entire biosphere. Not newer and bigger aircraft, not moving a quarter-billion chinese into the cities to become consumers.
Nope. The real threat is a few hundred acres of a potent and incredibly versatile drug, whose major fault is its failure to increase profits for Big Pharma.
I will enjoy the joke all day.
