Pot Farms Linked to Death of Small Critters - Central Coast News KION/KCBA

CALIFORNIA- The Fisher is a small, rare member of the Weasel family. Now, the death of some of the critters is being linked to California's illegal cash crop: marijuana.

Researchers, led by scientists from University of California, Davis, discovered rodenticide in dead fishers.

Death by rat poison is not common for animals living in woodland areas.

The study reports that in 2008 alone, officials removed more than 3.6 million marijuana plants from federal and state public lands in California, including state and national parks.

The critters were tracked and studied in Yosemite and Redwood National Parks.

The fishers are a candidate for the Endangered Species Act.