Huge marijuana farm spewing toxic chemicals is busted in Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park's backcountry hosts illegal marijuana cultivation that diverts creeks, poisons soil with banned pesticides, and produces thousands of pounds of waste. Rangers and Bureau of Land Management agents removed nearly 2,400 plants and about 2,000 pounds of trash from a 13-acre grow site. The site contained hazardous chemicals including methamidophos, an insecticide banned in the United States since 2009, posing lethal risks to birds, fish, bees, and humans. Grow operators sliced terraces into hillsides, cleared vegetation, cut two miles of illegal trails, and established campsites and kitchens in protected wilderness. Crews also discovered evidence of poaching and a semiautomatic pistol.

Sequoia National Park is home to the world's largest trees and iconic birds including peregrine falcons and bald eagles. But in its backcountry, illegal marijuana grows are wreaking havoc on this biodiverse haven by diverting creeks, poisoning soil with pesticides and dumping thousands of pounds of waste. On Thursday, the National Park Service announced a key win in its decades-long battle against these toxic farms: the removal of nearly 2,400 marijuana plants and around 2,000 pounds of trash from a 13-acre illegal grow site.

NPS law enforcement rangers initially found and raided the cultivation site last year but were unable to immediately move forward with rehabilitation because of the presence of several hazardous chemicals including methamidophos, an insecticide banned in the United States since 2009. Methamidophos is extremely toxic to birds, fish and bees and can cause devastating ecosystem impacts if runoff enters waterways or seeps into groundwater. Exposure to the chemical can also cause humans to experience respiratory distress, muscle weakness and convulsions.

Read at Los Angeles Times