Do We Have a Pot-Growing Problem in Our Open Space?

With the news that 7,375 large marijuana plants were eradicated by the Marin County Sheriff's Department on Tuesday, Sept. 20, near Nicasio, that makes at least the third such extensive raid this year in Marin's rural and open space areas.

As The Marin Independent Journal reported late Tuesday and the Sheriff's office confirmed Wednesday, the over 7,000 plants at a $9 million street value were seized in five separate grow sites that connected to an extensive irrigation system. The plants were between four and five feet tall and a campsite that appeared to support three people was also found.

"It was a very elaborate operation," [Lt. Doug Pittman] said.

The tip that prompted the raid in the 12000 area of Pt. Reyes-Petaluma Road in Nicasio came from deer hunters in the area.

It is not the first such raid in rural and open space lands.

In June, that involved three helicopters and over 60 officers on the east slope of Bolinas Ridge that borders Kent Lake.

. In that instance, the plants were spread over 100 acres in the ridges and canyons surrounding Kent Lake.

Though these were the biggest raids in the last year, in August the Sheriff's Department also conducted a string of smaller raids in West Marin, near Walker Ranch, and off of Pt. Reyes-Petaluma Road, according to the IJ.

In none of these instances were any arrests made or any people found at the extensive grow sites, though weapons and, in some cases, booby traps to defend the sites were found.

Typically, growers find relatively untouched lands, away from human contact to set up operation. With an increasing number of state and federal parks and open space going untended due to budget cuts, these lands have become havens across the state for marijuana growing operations, which can threaten the safety of park-goers and cause environmental damage to the lands.

With our extensive open space and relatively low-density, the areas around the edges of the Ross Valley will continue to be hotspots for this activity as long as there continues to be people growing marijuana illegally.

Do we have a pot-growing problem here? Are you worried about your safety hiking in certain areas? Have you ever come across any evidence of marijuana growing operations?

What can be done to prevent this growing locally? State-wide?