MARIJUANA STILL A GROWING RISK ON PUBLIC LANDS

Our view: It's despicable how illegal pot-growing on public lands has
ballooned, but federal decision-makers back in Washington are
belatedly catching up to the scope of the problem and devoting
resources to fighting it.

The great outdoors is filled with hazards, and north state residents
can grow jaded after repeatedly hearing the warnings about heat,
ticks, hungry mountain lions, zealously protective mama bears, poison
oak and slippery rocks.

But one red flag retains its power to shock -- Forest Service alerts
to watch out for illegal marijuana plantations and the armed men
guarding them on our public lands.

The Shasta-Trinity National Forest issued just such a public heads-up
last week, warning about the growing number of marijuana gardens in
the backcountry and laying out a list of signs to watch out for.

You don't have to be an ace tracker to notice pot growing if you
stumble across it, but the Forest Service helpfully notes that
tip-offs include isolated tents or trailers far from recreational
activity; garden tools, hoses and fertilizer bags; and irrigation and
piping; and trash in the forest.

And of course, if a recreational user should stumble onto a garden,
there's only one thing to do -- leave, quickly, and tell the authorities.

It's despicable how the drug traffickers have moved into some of
America's finest country, but federal decision-makers back in
Washington are belatedly catching up to the scope of the problem and
devoting resources to fighting it.

A U.S. Senate bill in the works would increase the Forest Service's
law enforcement budget to $135 million, about $20 million more than
this year's budget, with a little more than half of the new money
devoted to anti-drug efforts, according to Sen. Dianne Feinstein's office.

In the House of Representatives, Rep. Wally Herger's people say, the
related bill would boost the Forest Service budget by $8.8 million,
with an additional $29 million for the National Park Service's
rangers. Their beat includes Whiskeytown National Recreation Area,
where marijuana growers have planted some brazen plots in the past few years.

As those differences are resolved, we hope Congress treats
pot-growing -- which threatens both the public's safety and our
environment -- with the seriousness it deserves and commits enough
money to make a real dent. At best, law enforcement faces an uphill
battle as steep as Castle Crags.

Consider the numbers. For all the millions spent fighting marijuana
growing, the stakes are far higher for the other side. The state
attorney general's office estimated that last year the Campaign
Against Marijuana Planting destroyed crops worth $6.7 billion -- and
that's just the stuff drug agents found. (And 80 percent of it was on
state and federal lands.) Even making allowance for bureaucrats'
self-serving inflation, we're talking about a lot of money.

As Congress debates and drug agents stealthily go about their
business, hikers and hunters should keep a wary eye on their surroundings.

The death of a few more innocent citizens would probably persuade the
politicians about the gravity of the problem, but nobody in the north
state needs to be that example.