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What is supposed to be wild and untouched land is going to pot.
Last September, $28 million worth of marijuana plants were found by federal authorities in Malibu Creek State Park. The plants were removed by the Malibu/Lost Hills narcotics division.
The investigation is now being conducted by federal authorities, according to Sgt. Ken Davidson of the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Department. The approximately 28,000 plants spread across a half-mile stretch of the park.
Southern California weather is conducive to the growing of marijuana. The particular plants in the park grew for four or five months in a remote area, reaching heights of six feet tall, Davidson said.
“We airlifted two teams in, and went in and cut down the crop,” said Davidson. “Then we airlifted the plants out, dropped them, loaded them into trucks and destroyed them.”
The illegal growth of marijuana in national parks was discovered about six years ago, according to Holly Bundock, representative of the Pacific West Region of the National Park Service.
Marijuana growing operations in state and national parks are largely carried out by illegal Mexican immigrants who live in tents on park land, according to William Tweed, a representative for Sequoia National Park. The management of such operations is large and complex.
“Evidence suggests that management comes from large criminal organizations with substantial capital to invest,” Tweed said. “The groups involved appear to have substantial cross-border connections. Some describe them as “international drug cartels.”
Many Pepperdine students have enjoyed hiking or camping at Malibu Creek State Park. “It is gorgeous. It’s nice because it’s like this separate world,” junior Kari Miller said. “When you go on a hike, all the noise is taken away. It’s fun to go with friends.”
The NPS is part of the law-enforcement task force called Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (C.A.M.P.), which also includes agencies such as state parks, the bureau of land management and the national forest service, according to Bundock.
In 2005, C.A.M.P. said it seized 1,134,692 marijuana plants in 237 raids, with an estimated street value of $4.5 billion. Forty-two arrests were made.
The growth of marijuana has a devastating effect on Park Service land.
“The trash dumps create methane gas, poaching kills wildlife,” Bundock said. “They are introducing non-native plants, killing native plants, and creating erosion.”
Efforts to prevent this activity are multi-faceted, according to Tweed.
“We have stepped up law enforcement patrols in the areas that are appropriate for this purpose. We have close public roads during planting season to limit access. We have experimented with remote sensing searches,” said Tweed.
Hikers and campers generally need not be alarmed by these events, according to Tweed. “These activity take place away from the parks’ more visited features.”
Submitted 02-16-2006
MALIBU, CA
