A threat you might not have thought abou t

“So far, there have been no reports of hikers being injured by pot growers, but many have stumbled on to gardens in the Sequoia, Sierra, and Los Padres National Forest and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks. Most feel it is only a matter of time before a hiker gets hurt or worse...

Do you know what signs to look for that there might be a marijuana garden in the area where you are hiking? Do you know what to do if you stumble across one?

I also wish people who smoked marijuana thought of how much damage the cultivation of these plants does to the forest. I wish they also knew how hard the work is to clean up the gardens. I had the pleasure of helping clean up a garden once, it was located in an incredibly beautiful area near Nobe Young Falls in Sequoia National Forest. That day I worked harder than I ever have before hauling out garbage and irrigation pipe and bags of fertilizer. The growers literally trash the forest, it's disgusting...

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October 9, 2004 The Porterville Recorder

Sequoia forest ranks No. 1 for growing pot

By Henry Winckel, The Porterville Recorder

Sequoia National Forest is going to pot.

Literally.

"We're No. 1 in the state and in the nation for all forest service lands when it comes to marijuana plants," said Kirsten Meyers, law enforcement officer for the Sequoia National Forest.

So far this year, 153,000 plants have been eradicated in the forest - a record number that eclipses the previous record of 120,000 in 2000.

Meyers attributes Sequoia National Forest's No. 1 status to its rugged terrain and proximity to Mexico.

"Most of the workers who tend the gardens are Hispanic nationals and Mexican Mafia drug cartel," she said. "They cause extensive damage to the forest from pesticides and herbicides, and also damage the trees by cutting them down.

"Additionally, during the fall when it rains, the pesticides and herbicides get washed into the streams."

Meyers said about 60 percent of pot gardens are spotted from the air. The rest are discovered on the ground by forest service personnel or hunters.

Tulare County sheriff's officials say the county is also having a record-breaking year in terms of pot plants.

On public and private lands, deputies have found and eradicated 151,194 plants - 31,000 more than last year, which officials say was a record year.

"We're far and above last year, and we're still in the peak of the harvest season," said sheriff's Lt. Marsh Carter.

Carter acknowledged that those financing the pot gardens are rarely caught. And the rugged terrain makes it difficult to find even the low-level workers.

"They get paid a couple of thousand dollars to take care of the plants," he said. "But when we find a garden and eradicate the plants, they really don't get paid. They get taken advantage of. It's a bad deal for them, and a bad deal for the forest."

What authorities have found while eradicating gardens is an alarming amount of weapons, Carter said.”

“BC, you've already mentioned the signs of pot farms in the backcountry: Lots of irrigation pipe, concentrations of trash, and (usually) unusual trace trails running off the main trails, especially into rugged terrain. Pot farms occasionally pop up here in the Southern California Mtns too. Most of the illegals tending the farms live at the sites, so there's not a lot of traffic wandering in and out of the area.

The article doesn't mention it, but back in the 1980s along the NoCal coast (north of San Francisco) it was quite dangerous to wander off trails in the wooded areas. The extensive number of pot farms in the NorCal coastal hills was one of the worst kept secrets back then. Pot farming was done by locals, and they would booby trap their 'farms' to prevent looting. Local law enforcement rarely did anything about it unless a criminal act was involved (shooting, etc), since the marajiuana trade tended to be the lifeblood of the local economy in the area.”

“I guess there aren't any really big boycott's going on now, but I used to be amazed that people who would want to boycott companies that did not divest in South Africa, or did other things they did not approve of could buy illegal drugs. When you buy them (unless, perhaps you know your dealer is growing the stuff in the basement) - you are supporting some pretty nasty destructive enterprises.”

“Yep, I definitely wouldn't wander off the trail in our low to mid-elevation mountains by myself...”