Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 735 is my return conversation with John Nores, the retired California game warden and author of Hidden War. John started his career as a traditional fish-and-game warden and ended up leading special-operations teams against drug cartel marijuana grows hidden deep in America's national forests — operations that poison watersheds and wildlife. We dig into the second edition of Hidden War and how a job he envisioned as catching poachers turned into something closer to combat conservation. It is eye-opening.
Listen now: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube · Press play in the player above to watch.
John Nores is a retired California game warden, special-operations team leader, and the author of Hidden War. He began his career in 1992 as a traditional fish-and-game warden and went on to lead tactical teams against drug cartel marijuana grows hidden in national forests. He is a leading voice on the conservation impact of these operations on public lands and wildlife.
Hidden War, now in its second edition, is John Nores's account of the largely unseen fight against drug cartel marijuana cultivation in America's national forests. The book details how these grows poison watersheds, divert water, and devastate wildlife, and the special-operations work required to find and dismantle them while protecting public lands.
John Nores started his career in 1992 doing traditional warden work, checking anglers and hunters and stopping poaching. Over time, cartels began establishing large marijuana grows on public land, destroying the wildlife and watersheds wardens are sworn to protect. That pulled John and his colleagues into tactical, special-operations work far beyond the job he originally envisioned.
According to John Nores, cartel marijuana grows in national forests divert water, dump pesticides and other chemicals, and devastate wildlife and watersheds across public lands. The conservation damage is a central reason game wardens, rather than only traditional law enforcement, are involved in dismantling these operations.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 735 with John Nores is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and iHeartRadio. The video version is embedded at the top of this page.
John was such a compelling guest the first time that I had to have him back when the second edition of Hidden War came out. As a diehard angler, I understand exactly why he got into the job — checking limits, stopping gill-netters, catching deer poachers. What I did not understand until John explained it is how that traditional warden role collided with cartels growing marijuana on public land and destroying the very wildlife wardens are sworn to protect. I wanted him to update us on the fight.
Press play in the YouTube player at the top of this page to hear the full story.
John started his career in 1992 envisioning classic warden work — checking anglers for over-limits and undersized fish, stopping gill-netting and spotlighting, catching deer poachers. He loved it for the first ten to fifteen years. What nobody saw coming was how cartel marijuana cultivation on public land would pull wardens into something far closer to combat. He explains the turn in the episode. Listen to how that evolution happened.
Hidden War, now in its second edition, lays out a fight most Americans have no idea is happening: drug cartels operating large marijuana grows deep in national forests, diverting water, dumping pesticides, and devastating wildlife and watersheds. John describes the surveillance and tactical work it takes to find and dismantle these sites. The conservation angle is what makes this more than a crime story. Watch the YouTube player above for the details.
John walks through the reality of operating against these grows — reading a grower checking plants and fixing irrigation while a lookout maintains tactical awareness, scanning the canyon. He describes the level of situational awareness his teams operate with, the kind you would expect from military special operations. It is a side of wildlife protection almost no one sees. Listen to that part of the episode.
John could have walked away quietly after retirement. Instead he wrote, updated, and continues to share Hidden War because the public lands and wildlife at stake belong to all of us. His mission to raise awareness about what is happening in our forests is the throughline of the whole conversation. Press play in the YouTube player above to hear why it still drives him.
Listen to the full conversation: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · or watch in the YouTube player at the top of this page.
The day after talking to John, what stuck with me was how invisible this fight is to most of us who use public land. We hike, hunt, and fish these forests with no idea what is happening in the back canyons.
John bridges two worlds I care about deeply: conservation and the people willing to put themselves on the line to protect it. Hidden War is a story every outdoorsman should know.
Press play in the player above, or grab Episode 735 on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
The Tom Rowland Podcast brings you long-form conversations with the most accomplished anglers, hunters, conservationists, and outdoor professionals in the game. Listen to every full-length Tom Rowland Podcast interview.
John Nores · Hidden War (book) · California Department of Fish and Wildlife · Napa Valley College · national forest cartel marijuana grows
John Nores is a retired California game warden, special-operations team leader, and the author of Hidden War. He began his career in 1992 as a traditional fish-and-game warden and went on to help pioneer tactical, special-operations approaches to dismantling drug cartel marijuana grows hidden in America's national forests, which poison watersheds and devastate wildlife. Through the first and second editions of Hidden War, he has become a leading voice on the intersection of conservation, public lands, and organized crime.
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