AUTHORITIES GEAR UP AGAINST SEQUOIA POT GROWERS

SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) -- Federal, state and local
authorities are gearing up for another battle this summer against
marijuana growers in the Sequoia National Forest.

Officers seized 60,000 marijuana plants, with an estimated value of
$180 million, in Tulare County last year, according to Tulare County
sheriff's Lt. Greg Wright.

Most of that was being grown in the Sequoia National
Forest.

No plants have been found this year, but the growing season has just
begun.

Growers use a variety of pesticides and dangerous chemicals they
eventually dump into mountain streams that feed into the county's
water supply, Wright said. He also said most of the growers are also
armed to ward off other growers who raid their gardens, and there is
risk a hiker could come across a garden and be shot by a grower.

Wright said anyone hiking in the forest who finds a marijuana patch
should immediately leave, but should note the patch's location and
report it.