Cannabis agriculture offers a unique opportunity to study and promote agroecology as well as environmental stewardship. This is particularly true in northwestern California where most outdoor farms have small footprints and are adjacent to habitat for sensitive and protected species such as the Northern spotted owl, coho and Chinook salmon, and Humboldt marten. The cannabis industry has a reputation for being extractive and contributing toxicants to wildlife and the environment, but many small-scale cannabis farmers are actually incredible land stewards, promoting and facilitating biodiversity and ecological restoration on their farms and utilizing sustainable integrated pest management and other strategies to reduce negative impacts to the environment. This presentation will highlight biodiversity research and projects occurring on licensed cannabis farms in Humboldt, Trinity, and Mendocino Counties and will advocate for wildlife biologists, natural resource agencies, and consumers to see cannabis cultivation as an opportunity for, not a hindrance to, conservation. The cannabis industry in California will also be discussed, with emphasis on the continued potential to collaborate with farmers to support the environment, as well as the financial and regulatory hurdles faced by licensed small-scale farmers.