Pinnacles National Monument (CA)
Thousands Of Marijuana Plants Eradicated In Interagency Operation
On Tuesday, July 7th, rangers from Pinnacles National Monument assisted the Bureau of Land Management and local law enforcement agencies in raiding three different marijuana growing operations near the park in southern San Benito County. This is the second operation this year, and one of many in the past three years in which the National Park Service has participated as part of the interagency task force. The monument has established agreements with the Bureau of Land Management and the San Benito County Sheriff's Office that enable rangers and deputies to work cooperatively in eradicating growing operations on all federal and local lands within the county. During Tuesday's operation, rangers and officers located 32,188 plants with a potential street value of $6.6 million. Participating were 35 officers from the sheriff's office, the San Jose Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, the San Jose Drug Enforcement Agency Drug Task Force, the California Department of Fish and Game, the National Park Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Bureau of Land Management. The plants were initially located during aerial flyovers with the National Guard.