Absentee owners were also more likely to be concerned that growers were taking over public land

We provided 36 statements that corresponded to four themes: community ; the environment ; changes over time in property values, community safety, community demographics and so on and grower demographics . Respondents were asked to agree or disagree with the statements using a 5-point Likert scale and were able to provide comments after each subsection. The third section of the survey solicited background information about each respondent. Respondents were asked whether they earned income from timber, ranching or dairying, how long their families had owned the land they worked and whether they were absentees. In addition, we asked landowners if they had been approached about selling their land for cannabis cultivation and if they had next-generation succession plans for the family ranch or timber business. We also asked if landowners knew of nearby cannabis growing.As indicated previously, all respondents included in our survey owned at least 500 acres of land. Twenty two percent owned between 500 and 1,000 acres, 51% owned between 1,000 and 5,000 acres and 28% owned more than 5,000 acres. Of the 69 landowners whose responses were included in our results, 63 respondents managed timberland and 56 respondents managed ranchland, meaning that most respondents managed both land types; only one respondent was involved in dairy farming. Forty-six percent of respondents lived on their properties full time, while 20% lived on their properties part time. Thirty-three percent of respondents were absentee landowners. In general, bud drying rack the land represented in the survey had been in respondents’ families for a long time — more than 50 years in 81% of the cases, 25 to 50 years in another 10% of the cases, less than 25 years in 6% and less than 5 years in only 3% of the cases.

Fifty percent of respondents reported that their primary income was from traditional forms of agriculture or timber production; no respondents reported cannabis as their primary income source.Seventy-one percent of landowners reported that they did not grow cannabis on their property while 18% reported that they did. These percentages, however, are derived only from the 34 of 69 respondents who agreed or disagreed with the statement that they had used their property to grow cannabis. The remaining respondents — half the total — chose not to indicate whether they had grown cannabis, potentially indicating landowners’ reluctance to associate themselves with the cannabis industry. About 40% of respondents had indirectly profited from cannabis through off-farm work such as heavy equipment work, trucking and so on . Fifty-seven percent of all respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that “the cannabis industry has negatively affected my livestock operations,” while 27% disagreed with this statement. Over 60% of respondents agreed that cannabis had increased the cost of labor. Comments that respondents offered on the cost of labor included “Property values are inflated by the cannabis industry, hence costing us more for leases and ownership.”Seventy-five percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that “shared roads have been degraded by cannabis growers” and 65% agreed that noise pollution has increased due to cannabis growing. Fifty-five percent of respondents agreed that growers increase light pollution and 71% reported having experienced illegal garbage dumping by cannabis growers on or near their property. Forty percent of landowners disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement that “I know growers who have values that align with my own” . At the same time, 34% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with that statement . One respondent added that “[M]onetary impact is obvious.

Cultural and moral impacts are terrible.”Fifty-six percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that water sources have been impacted by cannabis growers, while 25% disagreed with this statement. Fifty-six percent also agreed that water had been stolen from their property. Seventy-two percent of respondents had experienced trespassing, while 20% had not. Forty percent of respondents reported that their fencing or infrastructure had been destroyed by cannabis growers, though a similar percentage had not. Fifty percent of landowners reported that neighboring growers had failed to assist with fence maintenance, and 75% of landowners reported having discovered trespass grows on their property . One respondent added that “[Growers’] dogs killed our cattle. My brother confronted a grower in fatigues carrying an assault rifle on our property. [Our] fences have been wrecked, roads damaged, and stream water theft.” Another respondent wrote that “Yes, this is true in the past, but with the pot market collapsing I don’t think this will be a problem in the future”.Roughly 55% of landowners reported having been threatened by cannabis growers’ dogs while 24% did not. Forty-six percent of landowners reported that their safety had been threatened by growers. Equal proportions of landowners reported, and did not report, having felt unsafe due to interactions with growers on public lands. Finally, 50% of landowners agreed that growers had committed crimes against them or their Property.Perceptions of cannabis growers were relatively unified among survey respondents. A majority of respondents did not perceive growers as having values similar to their own . The majority of landowners felt that growers had changed how it feels to live in their community , and 77% of landowners expressed concern about the changes that growers are bringing to their community. More than 80% of respondents were concerned about growers taking over working lands in their communities, and the same percentage were concerned that growers reduce the influence in the community of timber managers and ranchers.

One respondent wrote that “The bottom line is that our family would accept the negative economic impact of eliminating ‘pot’ in return for the elimination of all the negative impacts of the grower culture.” More than 90% of respondents agreed that growers from urban locations do not understand rural land management. Most landowners disagreed that growers are reinvigorating their rural communities or that growers are the only thing keeping their communities going . Eighty three percent of respondents disagreed with the statement that growers do a good job of policing themselves. Most landowners have not changed their views on cannabis with medical or recreational legalization .The clear majority of respondents did not think cannabis growers manage timberlands sustainably and a similar percentage felt the same about ranchlands. Eighty-five percent of respondents regarded cannabis growing as negatively affecting wildlife and 87% regarded it as negatively affecting stream flow . Eighty-four percent thought cannabis growing leads to soil erosion and 70% thought it increases fire hazard. Seventy-eight percent believed that cannabis production in ranchlands and timberlands leads to habitat fragmentation and the same percentage suggested that the economic value of cannabis incentivizes the subdivision of large parcels.Fifty percent of landowners felt that their property value had increased due to cannabis production while 40% were neutral on that question. Eighty-three percent of respondents thought that Humboldt County was a safer place before cannabis and 76% of respondents perceived new cannabis growers as less responsible than cannabis growers who have been in the county for years. About half of respondents believed that increased cannabis legalization will be good for Humboldt County. Fifty-seven percent of respondents were not yet willing to accept that cannabis is a leading industry and that people should support it. Fifty-four percent of respondents believed that Humboldt County would be better off in the future without cannabis.Most landowners included in the survey reported having observed changes in grower demographics in the last decade. Most felt that the number of small cannabis growers is decreasing. Sixty-one percent felt that the number connected to organized crime is increasing and perceived that there is an increasing number of green rush growers in their communities. Most respondents were concerned about organized crime, vertical grow rack system while only 48% were concerned with green rush growers and 18% with small growers.Overall, resident and absentee owners expressed similar views on most issues. Of the survey’s 59 statements on experiences and perceptions, statistically significant differences between the two groups appeared for only eight statements. Absentee owners were more likely to report that their surface water resources had been impacted by growers; that their fences or infrastructure had been destroyed by growers; that their safety had been threatened by growers and that they had been threatened by growers on public land. They were less likely to agree that growers manage timberland sustainably and that cannabis production decreases their property values.

With this study, we aimed to better understand the experiences and perceptions of traditional agricultural producers — the families who, in most cases for several generations, have made a living off their land, all the while watching changes occur in the social, economic and environmental dynamics that surround cannabis. This survey’s documentation of social tensions may not come as a surprise to those who have lived in Humboldt County . Even after many decades of cannabis cultivation, traditional agricultural producers have not warmed to the people or practices involved in the cannabis industry. Indeed, changes in the social fabric of the cannabis industry have only perpetuated and intensified existing tensions. As this survey shows, concerns about “small growers” are minimal now — those growers have become part of the community, and one-third of respondents agreed that they know growers whose values align with their own. What was novel 40 years ago is now a cultural norm. Today’s concerns center instead on the challenges of current cannabis culture: environmental degradation and the threat of major social and economic change. Respondents mostly agreed that growers today are less reasonable than those who have been in the county for many years. As one respondent wrote, “Growers are a cancer on Humboldt County.” This distrust highlights the challenges that, in rural areas, can often hinder community-building and mutual assistance mechanisms, which are often needed in isolated communities . The economic influence of cannabis can be seen throughout the county. As the survey shows, approximately 40% of respondents have been impacted indirectly by the cannabis industry, and some respondents have directly profited through cannabis production themselves. Interestingly, just over half the respondents chose not to say whether they grow cannabis, hinting at the possibility that, even for traditional agricultural producers, cannabis has presented an opportunity to supplement income and cover the costs of landownership. However, the broader economic growth attributed to the cannabis industry is not always viewed favorably, and a majority of respondents agreed that Humboldt County would be better off in the future without cannabis. Some respondents claimed that the industry has increased the cost of labor and that, in many cases, it can be difficult to find laborers at all because the work force has been absorbed by higher-paying cannabis operations. Likewise, many respondents agreed that land values have increased because of cannabis. But for landowners whose property has been passed down through generations, and who have little intention of selling, increased land values translate into increased taxes and difficulty in expanding operations, both of which can be limiting for families who are often land-rich but cash-poor. One respondent wrote, “Yes, the price of land has gone up… but this is a negative. It increases the inheritance tax burden, and it has become so expensive that my own adult children cannot afford to live here.” In Humboldt County’s unique economic climate, it’s difficult for most landowners to decide whether the opportunities the cannabis industry provides are worth the toll that they believe the industry takes on their culture and community — it’s not a simple story. As one respondent noted, “If I had taken this survey 40 years ago, my response would have been very different. With Humboldt County’s poor economy, everyone is relying on the cannabis industry in one way or another.” Our survey provides an important baseline from which such changing attitudes can be measured. Our results should be seen in the context of larger trends involving population and agricultural land in Humboldt County. At the time we were preparing our survey, property records indicated that slightly more than 200 landowners in the county owned at least 500 acres; these individuals made up our survey population. Past research, however, has documented that cannabis was likely grown on over 5,000 distinct parcels in Humboldt County in 2016 .