BOOK REVIEW: 'WAR IN THE WOODS' DEPICTS POT WARS ON PUBLIC LANDS

Most of us who live in Southern California know that not too far
beyond our backyards, paved roads and buildings there exists another
world. If we hike or ride the trails, we see the coyotes, bobcats,
lush habitats, and yes, the occasional homeless person and migrant
farm camp.

Some areas of our rural lands may be particularly dangerous because of
the plants, wildlife or people who thrive on such lands. While
criminal acts in general are low on America's public lands, one
illicit activity ---- cultivation of marijuana ---- threatens the
land, its wildlife and people.

Throughout California, hundreds of small to large pot farms dot our
national, state and county lands. The farmers and growers who ply
their trade there are well-armed, often cunning, and frequently a
danger to the environment and to legitimate park users. The value of
illegally grown marijuana in the U.S. is estimated at more than $36
billion, exceeding the combined totals for corn and wheat.

Standing between the often-desperate pot growers and those of us who
see the land as a refuge from city life are game wardens. Dubbed the
"thin green line," these officers and their stories are the subject
of "War in the Woods: Combating the Marijuana Cartels on America's
Public Lands" by Lt. John Nores Jr. with James A. Swan.

Nores is an 18-year veteran of the California Department of Fish and
Game and provides the bulk of the narrative. Author and documentarian
Swan serves as a senior columnist for ESPNOutdoors.com. Their love for
the outdoors and for preserving our public lands comes through loud
and clear in this somewhat uneven book.

In a well-justified criticism of the lack of support at the state
level, the authors point out that there are only 200 game wardens,
down from 275 a decade ago, patrolling all of California. These
dedicated officers are not glorified animal-control cops or tasked
only with checking the licenses and limits held by hunters.
Increasingly, they are patrolling large, often remote lands that have
been partly cleared to cultivate marijuana.

The criminal farmers booby-trap the farm's perimeters, dam up pristine
streams, produce mounds of trash and put harmful pesticides into the
land and water. As the book notes, the war fought by game wardens is
not directed at drugs as much as it is against violence and
large-scale environmental destruction. Regardless of the reader's view
on marijuana use, the story of wanton destruction of forest and
parkland for an economic purpose hits a nerve.

Understaffed and largely unappreciated, California game wardens are
three times more likely to die in the line of duty than are California
Highway Patrol officers. The book focuses on the in-field pursuit and
capture (or killing) of marijuana growers and the danger in making
such arrests.

Pot farmers aside, game wardens are in near-constant contact with men
and women who carry, and know how to use, knives and powerful guns.
The authors aptly describe the training, equipment and methods used to
conduct overt and covert actions on a battlefield that most of us
would consider safe and serene.

The authors, or more likely the editors, can be excused for injecting
the word "cartels" into the book's title in a naked attempt to grab
attention. There is scant evidence in the book that so-called drug
cartels are actually the force behind the ravaging and desecration of
our public lands.

In fact, one of the book's weaknesses is that we are provided with
only minimal information about the players and organizations carving
out illegal pot farms from public lands. Are they Mexican-based, run
by inner-city gangs, autonomous or centrally organized? Having called
our attention to the people and forces that seek to destroy our
forests and parks for their own illegal profit, the authors leave
important details in the shadows.

In some ways this book, which was written with know-how and passion,
resembles a series of short articles on pursuit and capture rather
than a cohesive whole.

Who would enjoy and learn from this book? Hunters, law enforcement
personnel and back-country adventurers will find this to be a good
read. If M14, AR15, K9, Special Ops, and short haul are words you use
on a daily basis, this book is for you.

"War in the Woods: Combating the Marijuana Cartels on America's Public Lands"

(out of four)

Authors: John Nores Jr. with James A. Swan

Publisher: Lyons Press

Binding: Softcover and e-books

Pages: 202, with photographs

Price: $16.95 softcover; e-books vary