[OG Kush]

Authorities found 20,000 marijuana plants with an estimated street value of $50 million in the Olema Valley and on Bolinas Ridge in western Marin County on Tuesday.

The National Park Service reported that the seizure appears to be one of the largest ever in Marin County.

A smaller marijuana grow containing 2,500 marijuana plants was found in the area in July.

Marijuana plants have been removed from other National Park Service sites in California, including Yosemite National Park, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks and Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, park spokesman John Dell'Osso said.

Marin County sheriff's Lt. Scott Anderson said Tuesday, "This has been a problem for some time in the county. Today's multi-agency approach to remove this illegal activity worked well."

Some of the marijuana was found on land owned by the Marin Municipal Water District. According to the National Park Service, some areas under cultivation suffered extensive resource damage and an assessment is being conducted.

Trees were damaged and several water holding ponds were dug into the hillside. An extensive irrigation system was connected to a spring a half-mile from the site, the National Park Service reported.

Growers are killing wildlife, diverting streams that contain threatened species of fish and are using harmful pesticides in the natural areas, park service officials said.

Restoration of the site and removal of garbage is under way.



Newshawk: SX420 - 420Girls.com
Source: 420Times.com
Pubdate: 30 August, 2006
Copyright: 2006 by KTVU.com and Bay City News
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