http://home.nps.gov/applications/morningreport/morningreportold.cfmWhiskeytown National Recreation Area (CA)
Marijuana Plants Destroyed In Raid On Plantation
A multi-agency task force raided a large marijuana cultivation plantation complex along Willow Creek last Wednesday, an area that overlaps the park’s western boundary. The raid yielded 572 budding plants in a fourth and newly-discovered plot in the complex. Due to the number of plants, Whiskeytown rangers, who had walked into and secured the area, eradicated all plants, removed all trash from the plot, collected evidence relating to the identities of the growers, and catalogued resource damage to the area. The plants and trash were flown out by a CAMP (Campaign Against Marijuana Planting) helicopter. A large amount of trash and resource damage remains in the western reaches of the complex from previous years’ activities. A mission to recover this trash is planned for this coming fall. The other three large plots in this complex were not occupied this year. Two of those plots yielded 6,428 plants in 2007. Francisco Huato Sanchez, a citizen of Mexico, was arrested in the eastern end of the complex and sentenced to 10 years in federal prison this past May for cultivating marijuana and possessing a loaded firearm during the commission of a crime. A third plot in the complex was quickly harvested and abandoned in 2007 after the helicopter was unable to fly due to loss of daylight during the initial raid. This site remains unoccupied. Investigation into several suspects identified in the fourth cultivation site earlier this year continues. The National Park Service went on to support Shasta County Sheriff's Office and CAMP in a second marijuana raid in the vicinity later in the day. Also participating in the operation were officers with the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch, the California Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement, and the California National Guard. [Submitted by Alan Foster, Chief Ranger]
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (IN)
Park Eradicates 10,000 Marijuana Plants
Each year, rangers locate and remove patches of wild growth marijuana from park property. This growth typically occurs in isolated areas and consists of what is commonly referred to as “ditch weed.” The stands are normally small and are limited to a few hundred spindly plants with few leaves. This season, possibly due to very favorable weather, the number and quality of these plants significantly increased. On August 21st, rangers, other park employees, and officers from the Burns Harbor and Portage Police Departments and the Porter County Sheriff’s drug task force participated in a joint operation to clear out a significant patch of wild growth marijuana. The majority of these plants were in excess of 12 feet tall with full foliage. The patch of plants is in an area of the park known for the best salmon fishing in the Midwest and is frequented by anglers from all over the United States. Approximately 30 people worked for eight hours to remove over 10,000 marijuana plants from the park and secure them for later destruction. Local authorities place the value of these plants at approximately $800 per mature plant for a total haul of over $8,000,000. There was no evidence located that the plants were being tended or actively cultivated. [Submitted by Mike Bremer, Chief Ranger]
