Pubdate: Sun, 08 Jul 2007
Source: Record Searchlight (Redding, CA)
Copyright: 2007 Record Searchlight
Contact:  http://www.redding.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/360
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Marijuana - California)

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. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake