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Last week, officials removed a massive illegal marijuana cultivation site hidden deep inside the Sequoia National Park, dragging away thousands of plants and nearly a ton of toxic debris that scarred the wilderness.
The National Park Service (NPS) said Thursday that crews removed 2,377 adult cannabis plants and nearly 2,000 pounds of garbage and infrastructure from the site, which damaged about 13 acres of land on the protected California campus. The agency added that most of the materials were removed by hand and lifted by NPS law enforcement rangers and the Bureau of Land Management Experts.
Authorities say the sign of this farming is an organized drug trafficking, the kind that has plagued Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park for nearly 20 years. At that time, officials eradicated nearly 300,000 plants, worth an estimated value in two parks, worth $850 million.
The NPS said authorities first discovered the cannabis farm in 2024, although they attacked it at the time until they completely removed it this year due to the presence of dangerous chemicals. When crews returned this year, they discovered a semi-automatic pistol, temporary campgrounds, kitchen areas and chemicals, including about a gallon of pesticide methyl oxide that was banned in the United States about 15 years ago.
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Federal law enforcement rangers snapped up illegal marijuana cultivation sites within the scope of Sequoia National Park. (National Park Service)
The wanderers also found not only the cannabis plants were found, but also the evidence they observed poaching, clearing natural vegetation, nearly two miles of illegal trails, carving to terraced plots on hillsides, and appearing to be for storing water from nearby streams.
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Officials said California’s Sequoia National Park has been home to drug trafficking operations for nearly two decades. (Paul Bersebach/Medianews Group/Orange County Register)
Officials say the impact of illegal growth operations goes far beyond the 13 acres it occupied.
Runoff at the site may have been contaminated by a variety of pesticides grown in cannabis, which could expose park visitors and wildlife to toxic materials, NPS said.
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The National Park Service said they found nearly a ton of garbage and dangerous chemicals in cannabis planting sites hidden in Sequoia National Park. (National Park Service)
The creek was sneakily provided water for crops and camps, otherwise wildlife and parking vegetation would be cultivated, NPS said. Each cannabis plant can consume six to eight gallons of water a day, the agency said.
Fox News Digital contacts the National Park Service and the Land Service for more information.
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No arrests have been made and investigations are underway. Anyone who requests information about illegal planting on park land is asked to call the NPS prompt line at 888-653-0009.
Bonny Chu is a digital production assistant at Fox News Digital.