More than 5,000 pot plants seized

Multiple illegal pot grows were uncovered in two state parks this summer resulting in the arrests of three Santa Rosa men.

California State Park Peace Officers and California Department of Fish and Wildlife found two sites at Robert Louis Stevenson State Park north of Calistoga and one site at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park in Kenwood, resulting in the removal of more than 5,000 marijuana plants in various stages of growth, said Jeremy Stinson, assistant chief of law enforcement for the State Parks system.

The first site at Robert Louis Stevenson had 2,878 plants and the second site had 1,606. There were 627 plants seized at Sugarloaf.

A fully mature plant can produce “up to a pound of useable dried bud,” Stinson said.

The suspects were arrested for illegal cannabis cultivation, carrying a loaded firearm in public, possession of an assault weapon, unlawful water diversion and polluting a state waterway.

The arrests and removal of the illegal plants were conducted during three separate occasions over the summer. Jose Arturo Doval Martinez, 25, was arrested on June 25 at Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, and Bernardino Sanchez Martinez, 46, and Maurilio Aguilar Torres, 28, were arrested together Sept. 2 at Sugarloaf where a handgun was found. Stinson said there is no known relationship between the two men who share the surname Martinez.

No one was arrested in the Sept. 3 plant seizure at Robert Louis Stevenson, and there was evidence of multiple people living there, and four firearms were removed.

As is typical of these types of grows, Stinson said there was evidence of people living at the sites for some time. The plants need constant care “24/7,” Stinson said, “especially at the end of the season,” which is August and September.

The remote area in which the plants were cultivated was chaparral environment with some madrone trees and manzanita shrubs probably removed from the Robert Louis Stevenson sites. The area at Sugarloaf was a burn area from the 2017 Sonoma Complex fires, he said.

There have been cannabis cultivations removed in both parks in the past, but Stinson did not know if they occurred in the same locations.

The cost to taxpayers to do the cleanup in these remote areas is high, Stinson said. The people who operate the illegal grows pack in a lot of equipment and steal water from natural sources.

“There is a lot of environmental damage with these types of operations,” Stiknson said. ”Here we are in a drought year with tinder dry conditions, and the water that should be going to plants and animals and trees in the parks is being diverted.”

Growers in these sites are there for weeks or months at a time. “They are not hiking out their trash” and they leave behind things such as propane tanks, batteries and human waste, he said.

Eradicating the plants “is just the beginning of the process to restore the park to its natural state,” he said, which involves restoring the natural course of water sources. Growers also use pesticides and rodenticides that are harmful to the sensitive areas they take over.

“It’s a long process, and one we take very seriously. There’s a lot involved on that long road,” requiring a collaborative effort between multiple agencies.

Illegal marijuana grows are a “big problem” on California public lands, state parks, national parks and other public areas, Stinson said. “Anywhere where you can have year-round water and sunlight, growers can get to a remote area where they are less likely to be caught.”

Contact Anne at anne.ernst@sonomanews.com.