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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories 10 things to know for Tuesday Emergency Services Library hours boosted Tactical operations center dedicated to abducted child 10 things to know for Monday Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency Services Crews snuff RV fire on Kane Creek Road 13 tires slashed in south Medford; police arrest suspect Medford police offer citizens' academy Emergency Services Politics and Elections Ward 2 Q&A: Clay Bearnson Ward 2 Q&A: Marlene Nuckols Ward 2 Q&A: Tim D'Alessandro Merkley-Wehby to debate Tuesday on KOBI Bates and Dotterrer race could go down to wire Education Phoenix High School restores homecoming parade EP school district launches new app Striving to make the grade Fresh produce goes home with Jackson Elementary families State mandates eye exams for kids 7 and younger Environment Fear of orphaned cubs nixes new spring bear hunt Josephine County ballot measure would ban commercial and government pesticide use Low water exposes Emigrant Lake's past Wagner Creek work would restore streambank Deer-killing disease won't taint meat for hunters State news Nation - World Obituaries Alexander George Edeleanu Beverly Rae Walker Dennis Allen Rodgers Mathew Martin Ray Barbara A. 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Our View: No clear favorite for county commissioner, position 1 ... Merkley-Wehby to debate Tuesday on KOBI ... 13 tires slashed in south Medford; police arrest suspect ... Our View: No clear favorite for county commissioner, position 1 ... Marijuana growers are threat to salmon, biologists conclude By Jeff Barnard Associated Press MailTribune.com By Jeff Barnard Associated Press Posted Sep. 30, 2014 @ 1:06 pm By Jeff Barnard Associated Press Posted Sep. 30, 2014 @ 1:06 pm » Social News GRANTS PASS — Water use and other actions by the marijuana industry in the Emerald Triangle of Northern California and Southern Oregon are threatening salmon already in danger of extinction, federal biologists said Tuesday. Concerns about the impact of pot farming were raised by the NOAA Fisheries Service in its final recovery plan for coho salmon in the region. The full plan was to be posted on the agency's website. A copy obtained in advance calls for determining then decreasing the amount of water that pot growers illegally withdraw from creeks where young fish struggle to survive. Pot is legally grown in the region for medical purposes and illegally for the black market. Other threats from the unregulated industry include clear-cutting forests to create pot plantations, building roads that send sediment into salmon streams, and spreading fertilizer and pesticides that poison the water. Coho salmon have been listed as a threatened species since 1997 in the region. Like salmon throughout the West, they have suffered from loss of habitat from logging, agriculture, urban development, overfishing and dams. The recovery plan also calls for steps to address many of those issues. The spotlight on marijuana stemmed from a California Department of Fish and Wildlife study that estimated pot growers suck millions of gallons of water from salmon streams. "Logging is regulated. Vineyards are regulated. It is time this industry was willing to be regulated," said Scott Bauer, an environmental scientist on the watershed enforcement team of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and lead author of the study. Armed with new authority from the Legislature, the department is imposing fines for illegal water withdrawals for use on pot plantations, Bauer said. The recovery plan points specifically to marijuana as a threat in river basins of Northern California, but the same issues exist in southwestern Oregon rivers, said Clarence Hostler, south coast branch chief for NOAA Fisheries in Arcata, Calif. The plan marks the second time that Endangered Species Act actions have pointed to marijuana as a threat. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been looking at rat poison left around illegal pot plantations in California as a factor in whether to list the Pacific fisher as a threatened species. The Emerald Growers Association represents a few hundred marijuana farmers in the region known as the Emerald Triangle due to the prevalence of pot plantations. Executive director Hezekiah Allen said bringing the industry under regulation would allow legitimate growers to compete more evenly with illegal growers, who have a financial incentive to cut corners. "We need regulation that's going to make sense to the farmers on the ground," he said. "That is also going to achieve the public safety and environmental goals that we all share." The recovery plan covers 40 genetically related populations of coho salmon and includes the Eel, Klamath, Smith, Chetco and Rogue river basins. The area covered by the plan stretches from the Mattole River near Petrolia, Calif., north to the Elk River near Port Orford. By Jeff Barnard Associated Press MailTribune.com By Jeff Barnard Associated Press Posted Sep. 30, 2014 @ 1:06 pm » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. 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