HERGER'S POT RESOLUTION PASSES OVERWHELMINGLY

A resolution authored by U.S. Rep. Wally Herger geared toward urging
federal agencies to take a more active role in getting pot growers
off public lands passed the House overwhelmingly today.

The Chico Republican's House Resolution 1540 calls for Congress to
come up with a plan that would create a long-term solution to
permanently dismantle the Mexican drug traffickers' pot growing
operations on federal lands.

The bill, cosponsored by six House Republicans from California, Texas
and Utah, passed this morning on a 400 to 4 vote.

"This resolution is an important step and puts federal agencies on
notice that this issue is a priority for Congress and they need to
act," Herger said today in a statement. "As we move forward into the
112th Congress, I will continue to push the federal government to
live up to its responsibilities and use every tool at our disposal to
put an end to this problem."

Saying that local law enforcement agencies haven't received enough
manpower or funding from the federal government, whose land the
growers are exploiting, Herger urges the Office of National Drug
Control Policy to "develop a comprehensive and coordinated strategy"
to fight drug trafficking.

The resolution doesn't allocate a funding source.

Herger's spokesman Matt Lavoie said that Herger recently arranged
meetings with officials at a number of federal agencies. Herger asked
them if they had enough funding to combat the growers, Lavoie said.

"It was something quite unusual to hear from a federal agency,"
Lavoie said. "They said, 'We're absolutely satisfied with the level
of funding we're receiving,' so it's not a funding issue. It's an
issue of priorities. That's where this resolution comes in to play."

John Heil, a spokesman for the Pacific Southwest Region of the U.S.
Forest Service, which includes the north state, has said that in
2008, the Forest Service spent $15.1 million - about 11.5 percent -
of its $131.9 million law enforcement budget to combat illegal
marijuana growing.

In the years that followed, more officers have been assigned to help
local and state agencies, he said.

In California, the Forest Service has 20 special agents dedicated to
drug investigations as well as three special agents assigned to the
Drug Enforcement Agency.

Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko has said it's not been nearly
enough to help his county combat the growers flooding vast tracts of
public lands.

He notes that Shasta County alone covers 3,800 square miles of
surface area, the majority of which is owned by the U.S. Forest
Service, Bureau of Land Management or the U.S. National Parks Service.

Some 630,000 plants were pulled in Shasta County last year, a record
haul almost six times greater than what agents destroyed in 2005.
That's more than what's confiscated in some states, Bosenko said.

And drug agents say that's a fraction of what the cartels are growing
in Shasta County each year.

The sheriff's office does receive some federal help to help offset the costs.

Bosenko said that in the last year, his office received around
$492,000 in federal grants and other cash to combat illegal marijuana growers.

Bosenko said he was thrilled that the House seemed to overwhelmingly
understand the problem.

"I think it sends a very clear message that Congress recognizes the
impact and the problems with illegal marijuana growing and dangers on
public lands," he said. "This is a great starting point to further
develop a collaborative strategy, both at the federal and local level."

In September, Herger sent a letter to his Democrat rivals asking them
to support the resolution.

In his letter, Herger urged the currently Democratic-led Congress to
consider the detrimental environmental effects marijuana growing has
on public lands.

"In addition to posing a severe threat to the public, these
plantations cause severe damage to the environmental health of the
impacted lands," Herger said in the letter. "Illegal marijuana
growers spray considerable quantities of unregulated chemicals,
pesticides and fertilizers; leave behind tons of trash and other
debris; and tap into streams and other waterways in order to
construct fairly complex irrigation systems."

It costs close to $11,000 to clean up and restore a single acre of
marijuana grow on federal lands, Herger said.

"I recently joined law enforcement in a marijuana eradication raid in
the forests of Shasta County and saw firsthand the flourishing
productivity of these foreign drug traffickers," Herger said,
referencing a trip he took this summer to a Shasta County marijuana
grow. "North State law enforcement officials have worked diligently
to eliminate this threat, but they do not have enough resources to
ensure long-term success."