SHASTA COUNTY AGENCIES LAUNCH OPERATION TO ERADICATE MARIJUANA

Two men, both armed with assault rifles, dangled from a buzzing
helicopter's 100-foot-long cable above Whiskeytown Lake on Monday afternoon.

Within minutes, the helicopter had lifted away from the parking lot
at the Whiskey Creek boat ramp and had flown over the mountains and
into the wilderness -- in search of a previously mapped-out marijuana
garden on national park land near Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.

One of the men earlier described the helicopter trip as "better than
any ride at Disneyland."

The first helicopter was soon followed by three others before it
returned to pick up another pair of SWAT team members, both decked in
army green. A Black Hawk helicopter circled the area and attracted
the attention of a few passers-by.

The helicopters were part of the largest multiagency marijuana
eradication operation in Shasta County, which kicked off Monday.

Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko announced "Operation Alesia" that
morning, along with Rep. Wally Herger, R-Chico, and Shasta-Trinity
National Forest spokesman Mike Odle, at the U.S. Forest Service
headquarters in Redding.

The operation's name apparently is based on a historic battle --
derived from a major engagement between the Gauls and the Romans in 52 B.C.

The modern-day battle's objectives are to yank the marijuana from
public lands, perform criminal investigations and reclaim the lands
once the marijuana is removed, Bosenko said.

SWAT members from the sheriff's office and the Redding Police
Department will raid marijuana gardens in Shasta County every day for
at least the next two weeks and 16 agencies will be assisting them.
The sheriff's office will then continue its efforts to wipe out
marijuana gardens until autumn, sheriff's Sgt. Janet Breshears said.

On Monday morning, members of the National Guard flew into the
Redding Municipal Airport to assist with the eradication operation.
The assisting agencies will provide the manpower to remove the
gardens' "infrastructure," such as tents, pesticides and miles of
irrigation pipes. Bosenko said there have not been enough resources
to do this in the past.

In 2006, nearly 240,000 pot plants were pulled -- a nearly $1 billion
value -- and Bosenko thinks even more plants will be removed this year.

It costs the American taxpayer more than $11,000 to restore 1 acre of
national forest land impacted by illegal marijuana crops, Bosenko said.

During the meeting, Herger said he supports Bosenko's operation
because the Mexican drug cartels have "declared war on our country."

"We are declaring war back on them," Herger said. "We are not going
to stop until we're victorious."