Last week, National Park Service (NPS) law-enforcement rangers and “special agents” from the Bureau of Land Management removed over 2,000 marijuana plants from an illegal cultivation site in California’s Sequoia National Park. A press release issued today describes the effort and how damaging this illegal activity is to the area.
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“A total of 2,377 full-grown marijuana plants and approximately 2,000 pounds of trash and infrastructure were removed by hand and helicopter sling-load operations,” reads NPS’s press release. “The site also contained a semi-automatic pistol and several hazardous chemicals, including about one gallon of Methamidophos, a highly toxic insecticide banned in the United States since 2009.”
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The site spanned about 13 acres. NPS listed several ways the illegal cultivation site damaged the land. Damage included the diversion of a nearby creek, installation of irrigation lines, construction of large pits to store water, and “significant clearing” of natural vegetation. The people behind this operation also dug terraces into the hillsides and illegally maintained trails leading to the cultivation site.
The press release says a single marijuana plant uses 6-8 gallons of water a day. That’s water that would otherwise nurture native plants and animals.
See the social-media post detailing the bust of this illegal marijuana cultivation site in Sequoia National Park here:
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