The Smith River is California’s last major undammed river: cold, clear, and vital to salmon. Flowing through the ancestral homelands of the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, its estuary and coastal plain are not only ecologically rich but culturally sacred.
For decades, however, a unique agricultural industry has operated here with a dark side: the cultivation of Easter lily bulbs.
The Crop: Easter Lily Bulbs
Unlike most agriculture in Del Norte County, Easter lily bulbs are a non-food ornamental crop. They are grown on an 18-month cycle in the sandy soils near the estuary. After the bulbs develop, they are harvested and shipped to nurseries nationwide to be forced into bloom for the Easter holiday.
Ecological Damage: Acutely Toxic Copper Runoff
Once bulbs are planted, growers apply fungicides to the soil and foliage. Chief among these is a copper-based pesticide, historically copper sulfate and more recently copper hydroxide. The region receives an average of 72 inches of rain annually; during these heavy rains, the fields drain directly into nearby creeks.
Monitoring by the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board has documented dissolved copper in downstream creeks shared by salmonids. The primary concern is bioavailable dissolved copper, the form most readily absorbed by aquatic organisms and acutely toxic to salmonids.
Biologists have proven that even low concentrations of dissolved copper impair a salmon’s olfactory system. This "loss of smell" is catastrophic, as salmon depend on it to:
- Navigate back to natal spawning grounds
- Avoid predators
- Locate food
- Survive the vulnerable juvenile stages
For endangered Coho salmon, whose recovery depends on intact habitat and clean water, the stakes are high. From the perspective of the Natural Resources Director of the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation and allied environmental advocates, the issue is straightforward: Pesticides from a non-food ornamental crop are washing into creeks and the Smith River, harming salmon and degrading tribal waters.
What you can do - Submit a comment by March 30, 2026
Submit a comment, you'll want to email NorthCoast@waterboards.ca.gov with the subject set as “Comments for Draft Lily Bulb Order / Draft EIR”, and use some or all of the points in the letter below. Please bcc water@wLLw.net so we can see that the comments are recorded in the Waterboards docs.
Subject : Comments for Draft Lily Bulb Order / Draft EIR
Dear California State Water Board,
Please adopt an effective permit for the draft General Waste Discharge Requirements for Commercial Lily Bulb Operations in the Smith River Plain and the draft Environmental Impact Report that meaningfully protects water quality, public health, and imperiled ecosystems.
Specifically, the final permit and EIR must:
- Disallow any further pesticide discharges to waterways, including copper.
- Disallow the spraying of pesticides during wet weather.
- Create large and effective buffer zones between fields, waterways, residences, and schools.
- Effectively enforce the regulations outlined within the order via significant consequences following order violations.
- Provide protections that safeguard Tribal beneficial uses, imperiled species within the estuary, and guarantee clean drinking water for the Community of Smith River
The Smith River is one of California’s last intact river systems, and its protection requires precautionary, enforceable regulation that prioritizes ecological integrity, public health, and Tribal sovereignty over continued pollution. Thank you for considering my comments.
Sincerely,
<Name>, < Optionally address or town, state>
Background references - though don't forget to submit comments by March 30, 2026
https://www.wildcalifornia.org/post/action-alert-lily-bulb-pesticides-leaching-into-smith-river
https://www.fodn.org/current-issues