Siskiyou supervisors extend local emergency on illegal pesticides and illicit cannabis operations

The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted to add and then extend a local emergency that targets illegal pesticides and illicit cannabis operations, the county’s emergency-services director told the board.

Brian Shoney, the county’s director of emergency services, said staff continue to see illegal pesticide use and illicit grow sites and asked the board to extend the emergency declared by Resolution 25-109, which the transcript records as having been adopted on 07/01/2025. Shoney said staff plan to rewrite and strengthen the declaration’s language to include more public-health and environmental protections and noted the county anticipated additional state-level direction from the Department of Cannabis Control.

The board first voted to add the item to the special meeting agenda as an urgency item; supervisors subsequently moved to extend the local emergency and recorded unanimous 'Aye' votes from those present. The extension preserves county authorities enacted under the resolution while staff update the declaration language and pursue additional support, including potential federal assistance for enforcement and remediation, Shoney told the board.

Supervisors requested that updated language and an implementation plan be brought back to the board for review; the transcript records the board asking for an update with revised language before further action. The board did not adopt a rewritten declaration at the meeting; it extended the existing emergency to maintain county authority while staff prepare revisions.