Pubdate: Sun, 27 Mar 2011 Source: North County Times (Escondido, CA) Copyright: 2011 North County Times Contact: http://www.nctimes.com/app/forms/letters/index.php Website: http://www.nctimes.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1080 Author: Richard L. Carrico, For the North County Times BOOK REVIEW: 'WAR IN THE WOODS' DEPICTS POT WARS ON PUBLIC LANDS Most of us who live in Southern California know that not too far beyond our backyards, paved roads and buildings there exists another world. If we hike or ride the trails, we see the coyotes, bobcats, lush habitats, and yes, the occasional homeless person and migrant farm camp. Some areas of our rural lands may be particularly dangerous because of the plants, wildlife or people who thrive on such lands. While criminal acts in general are low on America's public lands, one illicit activity ---- cultivation of marijuana ---- threatens the land, its wildlife and people. Throughout California, hundreds of small to large pot farms dot our national, state and county lands. The farmers and growers who ply their trade there are well-armed, often cunning, and frequently a danger to the environment and to legitimate park users. The value of illegally grown marijuana in the U.S. is estimated at more than $36 billion, exceeding the combined totals for corn and wheat. Standing between the often-desperate pot growers and those of us who see the land as a refuge from city life are game wardens. Dubbed the "thin green line," these officers and their stories are the subject of "War in the Woods: Combating the Marijuana Cartels on America's Public Lands" by Lt. John Nores Jr. with James A. Swan. Nores is an 18-year veteran of the California Department of Fish and Game and provides the bulk of the narrative. Author and documentarian Swan serves as a senior columnist for ESPNOutdoors.com. Their love for the outdoors and for preserving our public lands comes through loud and clear in this somewhat uneven book. In a well-justified criticism of the lack of support at the state level, the authors point out that there are only 200 game wardens, down from 275 a decade ago, patrolling all of California. These dedicated officers are not glorified animal-control cops or tasked only with checking the licenses and limits held by hunters. Increasingly, they are patrolling large, often remote lands that have been partly cleared to cultivate marijuana. The criminal farmers booby-trap the farm's perimeters, dam up pristine streams, produce mounds of trash and put harmful pesticides into the land and water. As the book notes, the war fought by game wardens is not directed at drugs as much as it is against violence and large-scale environmental destruction. Regardless of the reader's view on marijuana use, the story of wanton destruction of forest and parkland for an economic purpose hits a nerve. Understaffed and largely unappreciated, California game wardens are three times more likely to die in the line of duty than are California Highway Patrol officers. The book focuses on the in-field pursuit and capture (or killing) of marijuana growers and the danger in making such arrests. Pot farmers aside, game wardens are in near-constant contact with men and women who carry, and know how to use, knives and powerful guns. The authors aptly describe the training, equipment and methods used to conduct overt and covert actions on a battlefield that most of us would consider safe and serene. The authors, or more likely the editors, can be excused for injecting the word "cartels" into the book's title in a naked attempt to grab attention. There is scant evidence in the book that so-called drug cartels are actually the force behind the ravaging and desecration of our public lands. In fact, one of the book's weaknesses is that we are provided with only minimal information about the players and organizations carving out illegal pot farms from public lands. Are they Mexican-based, run by inner-city gangs, autonomous or centrally organized? Having called our attention to the people and forces that seek to destroy our forests and parks for their own illegal profit, the authors leave important details in the shadows. In some ways this book, which was written with know-how and passion, resembles a series of short articles on pursuit and capture rather than a cohesive whole. Who would enjoy and learn from this book? Hunters, law enforcement personnel and back-country adventurers will find this to be a good read. If M14, AR15, K9, Special Ops, and short haul are words you use on a daily basis, this book is for you. "War in the Woods: Combating the Marijuana Cartels on America's Public Lands" (out of four) Authors: John Nores Jr. with James A. Swan Publisher: Lyons Press Binding: Softcover and e-books Pages: 202, with photographs Price: $16.95 softcover; e-books vary - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.