By Marina Gaytan
Tulare
County - While 49 million marijuana plants were being grown on public
lands last year by illegal marijuana growers living in remote areas of
the mountains, there was plenty of garbage and damage left behind.
To restore the mountains to their pristine state, the High Sierra Volunteer Trail Crew is called upon to clean up what was left behind.
Warren Sargent, environmental reclamation team director and volunteer for High Sierra Trail Crew, said that there are a lot of environmental issues to deal with at nearly all the illegal grow sites.
The trail crew, which has been around for 15 years, was initially focused on trail maintenance on public lands - mostly in the National Forest.
After being asked to help with the environmental restoration, which is cleaning up the elicit marijuana grow sites, Sargent knew he wanted help.
Directed by National Law Enforcement, Sargent and the crew travel into the National Forest for days at a time to collect and clean up fertilizers, pesticides, rodenticide and possible herbicides that are left behind. They also dismantle irrigation systems, clean up food, clothing, shelters and take away other trash.
While providing their own equipment, Sargent, along with approximately 15-30 people, all volunteer for a three-day reclamation mission. US Forest Service, Department of Fish & Game, and other law enforcement agencies also help in the reclamation process, including various helicopter lifting services to help lift out materials.
Collaborating the manpower and time to clean up the sites is just one of the many things the crew does to prepare for the mission. The GPS coordinates which is given by law enforcement, aren't always the easiest to find, Sargent said. Some trails can be hard to find as well, which raises a level of danger.
“We don't believe that we are a threat to the cartels,” he said. “If I were stopped by the cartels and asked 'why are you doing this?' I would tell them I'm doing them a favor.”
Cleaning up the sites after an eradication occurs helps keep the animals away from the waste, he added.
Since water is already a concern throughout California, water is a main concern to the trail crew as well.
The amount of water illegally diverted to supply illicit marijuana growing operations in Fresno County alone could have provided water to a community of approximately 500 families for one year, he added.
“That is a lot of water,” he said. “That water is taken away from us, and we don't have any say about it, which makes the [water] problem worse.”
If the natural water flow doesn't run downstream, as it should, it could potentially hurt the growth of an endangered flower or plant.
Another problem they see in the grow sites is animal poaching including an endangered pelt of a ringtail cat, found in one particular grow site. The ring tail cat is a fully protected species, he added. Other animals included a skunk, mountain lions, a turtle and snakes that have been killed by those tending to the gardens.
Very heavy doses of fertilizers are found in every grow site, which allows the plants to grow and mature as quickly as possible. Since some of the fertilizer isn't taken up by the plant it usually ends up back in the water – which then contains phosphates, nitrogen and phosphorus, which need to be removed from the water to make it safe again.
One of the newest discoveries found within the grow sites is a water pit with unknown ingredients being mixed in and siphoned out to irrigate the garden.
On a recent trip, Sargent and his team found a water pit that could hold approximately 7,350 cubic feet of water or 54,978 gallons.
A number of rodenticides and deer or rabbit repellent is also found by the trail crew.
Pesticides that are not available in the United States contain known cancer-causing agents. One particular toxic substance found in the sites is known as Furadan, which is a Carbofuran and is the most toxic of the carbamate pesticides. It has the highest acute toxicity to humans of any insecticide widely used on field crops. A quarter teaspoon can be fatal.
Although the trail crew works through dangerous conditions like tough terrain, steep hills and even snow, they have been 100 percent successful in reclaiming every single grow site.
Last year they collected enough trash to fill two 40-foot long tractor trailers, irrigation tubing that would stretch from Fresno to Tulare and enough excess fertilizer to fertilize a 10,000 tree orchard.
“If the trail crew wasn't doing this then all of that material could go back into the water,” Sargent said.
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