The National Park Service recently removed thousands of illegal marijuana plants and thousands of pounds of debris from California’s Sequoia National Park.
In a press release last Thursday, the National Park Service announced that law enforcement agents worked with the Bureau of Land Management’s special agents to remove an “illegal marijuana cultivation site” located in Sequoia National Park earlier this month.
“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,” the National Park Service stated. “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.”
In Thursday’s press release, the National Park Service explained that the illegal marijuana cultivation site was detected and raided by law enforcement rangers in 2024; however, hazardous chemicals at the site prevented it from being rehabilitated by the agency until this year.
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The damage from the illegal marijuana cultivation site, which spanned a nearly 13-acre area in Sequoia National Park, included two miles of illegal trails, evidence of poaching activity, diverted water flow from a creek, large pits to store water, the removal of natural vegetation, and the development of campsites, cultivation sites, and kitchen sites.
The National Park Service confirmed that while no arrests have been made in connection with the illegal marijuana cultivation site at Sequoia National Park, the site remains under investigation.
The National Park Service warned that large marijuana cultivation sites can lead to “major impacts” in the Central Valley region. Citing the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the National Park Service said a marijuana plant takes up six to eight gallons of water each day that could be used by vegetation and wildlife. Additionally, the National Park Service warned that runoff from large cultivation sites can be tainted by various pesticides.
“For almost two decades, well-organized drug-trafficking organizations have been operating large-scale cultivation operations in and around Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks,” the National Park stated. “These cultivation sites cause major damage to the parks’ natural resources and are a threat to public and staff safety. In the last 20 years, nearly 300,000 plants with a value of almost $850 million have been eradicated in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.”
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Author: Timothy Frudd
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