CDFW Cannabis Program Safeguards California’s Natural Resources

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March 2, 2026 4:21 am

During a CDFW-led cannabis enforcement operation in Mendocino County in September 2025, environmental scientists documented dozens of Fish and Game Code violations impacting fish, wildlife and their habitats. Some were related to surface water diversions, like this one on an isolated pool in the channel of a creek. At the time of the operation, this pool was the sole source of water for more than 4,200 illicit cannabis plants. CDFW scientists documented both foothill yellow-legged frogs and winter steelhead in the pool, with the steelhead at risk of mortality from both the suction of active pumps and the potential dewatering of the pool. CDFW photo.

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In 2025, the program awarded millions in grants, conducted hundreds of enforcement operations, and provided extensive regulatory support for cannabis cultivators

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife supported a wide array of activities in 2025 to help reduce and address environmental impacts associated with cannabis cultivation in California—including awarding millions of dollars in grants, investigating and documenting hundreds of environmental violations, and making hundreds of compliance visits to cannabis cultivation sites.

CDFW has long been a leader in understanding the impacts of cannabis cultivation on the environment and now has one of the largest and most unique cannabis-focused programs in the nation. It covers dozens of distinct business functions related to cultivator permitting, cannabis tax-funded grants, environmental monitoring, land stewardship, site restoration and law enforcement—all to benefit California’s fish and wildlife habitats and biodiversity, and all supported by funds California voters approved when they voted to legalize recreational cannabis.