Law enforcement rangers with the National Park Service worked in cooperation with special agents from the Bureau of Land Management to remove an illegal marijuana cultivation site in Sequoia National Park last week.
Marijuana Plants in Sequoia National Park
According to the National Park Service, crews removed 2,377 full-grown marijuana plants and around 2,000 pounds of trash and infrastructure both by hand and by helicopter sling-load operations. A semi-automatic pistol and several hazardous chemicals were on the site as well. Chemicals included about one gallon of Methamidophos, a banned, high toxic insecticide.
Law enforcement rangers detected and raided the cultivation site in 2024, but they didn’t rehabilitate the site until now due to the presence of hazardous chemicals. The investigation is still ongoing and no arrests have been made.
The 13-acre area saw a vast amount of damage, including diversion of the natural flow of water and the installation of irrigation lines, construction of several pits to store water, significant clearing of natural vegetation, digging of terraces into the hillside, and the development of campsites, kitchen areas, and cultivation sites in a wilderness. There was also evidence of poaching activity and illegally maintained trails covering around 2 miles.
Cultivation Sites in California
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife states that a single marijuana plant in the Central Valley uses between 6 and 8 gallons of water a day that would otherwise provide for wildlife and vegetation. Runoff from large cultivation sites can taint water that people use for personal use and for crop irrigation in the Central Valley.
Large-scale cultivation operations have operated in and around Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks for almost two decades, causing major damage to the parks’ natural resources and acting as a threat to public and staff safety. Crews have removed nearly 300,000 plants with a value of around $850 million from the parks in the last 20 years.
