The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) were tasked with trying to regulate the cannabis cultivation activity. As part of this effort, they contracted with Formation Environmental and VESTRA Resources, Inc. to design a Cannabis Identification and Prioritization System (CIPS), which acts both as a repository of geospatial information on grow locations and a tool for helping the agencies prioritize their regulatory efforts based on the potential impact individual grows have on water resources, fish, and wildlife.