POT IN FOREST A SERIOUS CONCERN

As the weather heats up and the Memorial Day weekend fast approaches,
representatives of the Mendocino National Forest are warning people
to be on the lookout for illegal marijuana gardens in the national forest.

"We want the public to be aware that this illegal activity and
occupation is taking place if they encounter marijuana gardens on the
national forest," said Forest Supervisor Tom Contreras.

Last year, law enforcement seized more than 220,000 plants from
illegal marijuana grows.

According to national forest reports, the MNF is becoming an
increasingly popular place for illegal marijuana growers to plant
their crops because the forest is remote, largely uninhabited and has
the proper soil fertility and climate to grow the crop.

Most marijuana growers begin to plant in May and harvest between
September and November.

"If a private citizen comes upon something suspicious, don't enter
the area; just leave and notify local law enforcement authorities
immediately," said Forest Service Law Enforcement Capt. Julie Lombard.

Forest Service law enforcement officers work with county Sheriff's
Departments, the California National Guard, and Campaign Against
Marijuana Planting teams. Headed by the Department of Justice Bureau
of Narcotic Enforcement, CAMP teams were created in 1983 for the
primary purpose of eradicating illegal marijuana from public lands in
California.

Marijuana growers sometimes live in the forest near these illegal
gardens for months at a time. Officers have come across these illegal
camps with exercise facilities, tree houses, barbed wire fences and
numerous firearms, Lombard said.

These camps often contain cooking and sleeping areas which are within
view of the cultivation site. Some camps have tents, hammocks and
sleeping bags on the ground and have been found with large
overhanging tarps as cover for the entire campsite.

Current gardens are also larger than they were in the 1980s, where
gardens were typically between 100 and 1,000 plants. Modern gardens
average between 1,000 and 30,000 plants, Lombard said.

"Most of the increase can be attributed to the proliferation of
foreign drug trafficking organizations," Lombard said.

The gardens also endanger the environment, according to Forest
Service reports. Herbicides and pesticides used to remove local
vegetation and rodents, as well as garbage and human waste can all
end up in steams where they are a threat to fish.

For additional information or to notify law enforcement authorities
of a suspected garden area in the Mendocino National Forest, contact
Forest Service Law Enforcement at 530-934-3316.