A multi-agency Campaign Against Marijuana Planting operation seized more than 5,400 cannabis plants from three properties along Mattole Road in southern Humboldt on Thursday.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office said the raids targeted parcels between Ettersburg and Honeydew. All three properties were on private land. None held active cultivation licenses with the Department of Cannabis Control.

Deputies served warrants beginning at 6 a.m. The operation involved HCSO deputies, California Department of Fish and Wildlife wardens, and agents from the state Bureau of Cannabis Control. Two helicopters were used for access and aerial surveillance.

No arrests were made at the scene. The sheriff’s office said the investigation is ongoing and that suspects have been identified.

Plant counts by property: 2,100 on the first parcel, 1,800 on the second, 1,500 on the third. Deputies also seized approximately 200 pounds of processed cannabis, 14 pounds of concentrate, and an unspecified quantity of fertilizers and pesticides. Three firearms were recovered.

CDFW wardens documented environmental violations at two of the three sites. These included unpermitted water diversions from a tributary of the Mattole River and grading without erosion controls. The agency said it would pursue civil penalties separately from any criminal charges.

The properties are in a remote stretch of the Mattole drainage, accessible by dirt roads that branch off the main route between Ettersburg and Honeydew. The area has been a focus of CAMP operations for decades.

Sheriff William Honsal said the operation was initiated after aerial surveys last fall identified “significant unpermitted canopy” on the three parcels. Search warrants were obtained in January.

“These aren’t small personal gardens,” Honsal said in a statement. “This is large-scale unlicensed commercial cultivation with documented environmental damage.”

The seizure is the largest CAMP action in Humboldt County so far in 2026. Statewide, CAMP reported eradicating approximately 1.1 million plants in 2025 across all counties.

Licensed cultivators in the area had mixed reactions. One farmer on the Mattole who holds a DCC small outdoor license said unpermitted grows undercut legal operators.

“I pay my taxes, I do my Metrc, I get my CoA for every batch,” the farmer said, requesting anonymity. “These guys run dirty and sell at half my price. The raids aren’t fun to watch, but the alternative is worse.”

Others in the community are less supportive of CAMP operations, citing the program’s history of aggressive tactics in rural Humboldt going back to the 1980s. A resident near Honeydew who declined to give her name said helicopters circled for hours.

“It’s February,” she said. “Who are they scaring?”

The sheriff’s office said additional CAMP operations are planned in the county this year. The DCC has allocated $15.2 million statewide for cannabis enforcement in the current fiscal year.

Anyone with information about unlicensed cannabis cultivation in Humboldt County can contact the sheriff’s office tip line at 707-267-9300.