FruityBud
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The significant rise in marijuana farms in southern Utah is a growing problem that has caught the attention of law enforcement throughout the state and country.
"We found our first garden in 2004," Forest Service special agent Doug Roe said. "Since then we've seen around one or two a year, but last year we found 13 in the southern Utah area."
Roe said the rise has caught the attention of the Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C., which gave the southern Utah operations an increase in funding last year.
"Washington has given us some more money for this," Roe said. "Extra funding operations to eradicate the problem."
Roe, who has been in charge of operations in the national parks in southern Utah for the U.S. Forest Service since 2007, said the service plans to attack the issue in national parks and forests through the air and by foot.
"We plan on flying helicopters from the Utah and Nevada National Guard," Roe said. "Also, we're asking regular people like hikers, hunters and fishers to keep an eye out and report if they see anything to us."
Roe said nearly half of the reported marijuana busts last year came from reports by hikers in the areas that drugs are being grown in.
Roe advised the best way for hikers to report marijuana fields is to record the area they saw the garden on a GPS device or the specific area they saw the plant being farmed then contact park officials.
"Most people today have a GPS device when they hike," Roe said. "We'd like them to write down the specific numbers on a GPS system and then leave."
Roe also said the most popular growing areas were near drainage streams to irrigate the area for drug growing, which also pollutes the water system.
"It doesn't take a lot of water to grow this plant," Roe said. "But, the planters pollute the water with fertilizer and the drainage becomes unnatural."
With the ongoing war between drug cartels and police in Mexico, knowing the same drug being fought over the border is being grown locally may cause visitors to reconsider planning a stay at one of the parks.
Rob Myers, Outdoor Center Director and regular hiker, said knowing marijuana growers were in the region would not change his decision to visit the southern Utah trails, but he might reconsider if hiking with family members or students.
"It wouldn't effect me individually," Myers said. "However, (if it was) a group of SUU students or my family, I might reconsider."
Roe said he believed the marijuana growers are harmless, although some of the suspects arrested for cultivating the drug carried some sort of weapon.
"The worst weapon we have found is .22 caliber," Roe said. "Basically all of the weapons seized have been used for hunting for food."
Myers said he became aware of the current rise in marijuana growing after he discovered a large garden.
Although the number of farms in southern Utah are rising, the drug arrests in Cedar City have not risen, said Cedar City Police Department commander Dave McIntyre.
McIntyre said he believes the marijuana being grown in southern Utah is being shipped out to other areas in the country and not being used to supply Utah.
"Marijuana use (in Cedar City) hasn't increased, just the cultivation," McIntyre said. "We believe its being shipped out to other places."
Roe said through more investigation, the marijuana farms in southern Utah are likely sold to places from as far west as California to as far east as Chicago.
McIntyre said the problem currently is probably from the pressure from other states that are cracking down on cultivation.
"They're coming here because of the pressure by police in California," McIntyre said.
Nevertheless, Roe said he wants the public to recognize the increase in marijuana growing in the park, but does not want it to affect the entertainment value of hiking, camping, hunting or fishing.
"We're just trying to pressure these guys to stop growing here," Roe said. "We're not trying to scare people off forest trails by any means."
Myers said he would still hike the southern Utah trails unless the problem persists, but hopes the problem will end before it gets out of hand.
"If it becomes more and more common it probably will effect me," Myers said. "I just hope it won't get me away from the solitude and enjoyment of hiking."
hxxp://tinyurl.com/dmx8vk
"We found our first garden in 2004," Forest Service special agent Doug Roe said. "Since then we've seen around one or two a year, but last year we found 13 in the southern Utah area."
Roe said the rise has caught the attention of the Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C., which gave the southern Utah operations an increase in funding last year.
"Washington has given us some more money for this," Roe said. "Extra funding operations to eradicate the problem."
Roe, who has been in charge of operations in the national parks in southern Utah for the U.S. Forest Service since 2007, said the service plans to attack the issue in national parks and forests through the air and by foot.
"We plan on flying helicopters from the Utah and Nevada National Guard," Roe said. "Also, we're asking regular people like hikers, hunters and fishers to keep an eye out and report if they see anything to us."
Roe said nearly half of the reported marijuana busts last year came from reports by hikers in the areas that drugs are being grown in.
Roe advised the best way for hikers to report marijuana fields is to record the area they saw the garden on a GPS device or the specific area they saw the plant being farmed then contact park officials.
"Most people today have a GPS device when they hike," Roe said. "We'd like them to write down the specific numbers on a GPS system and then leave."
Roe also said the most popular growing areas were near drainage streams to irrigate the area for drug growing, which also pollutes the water system.
"It doesn't take a lot of water to grow this plant," Roe said. "But, the planters pollute the water with fertilizer and the drainage becomes unnatural."
With the ongoing war between drug cartels and police in Mexico, knowing the same drug being fought over the border is being grown locally may cause visitors to reconsider planning a stay at one of the parks.
Rob Myers, Outdoor Center Director and regular hiker, said knowing marijuana growers were in the region would not change his decision to visit the southern Utah trails, but he might reconsider if hiking with family members or students.
"It wouldn't effect me individually," Myers said. "However, (if it was) a group of SUU students or my family, I might reconsider."
Roe said he believed the marijuana growers are harmless, although some of the suspects arrested for cultivating the drug carried some sort of weapon.
"The worst weapon we have found is .22 caliber," Roe said. "Basically all of the weapons seized have been used for hunting for food."
Myers said he became aware of the current rise in marijuana growing after he discovered a large garden.
Although the number of farms in southern Utah are rising, the drug arrests in Cedar City have not risen, said Cedar City Police Department commander Dave McIntyre.
McIntyre said he believes the marijuana being grown in southern Utah is being shipped out to other areas in the country and not being used to supply Utah.
"Marijuana use (in Cedar City) hasn't increased, just the cultivation," McIntyre said. "We believe its being shipped out to other places."
Roe said through more investigation, the marijuana farms in southern Utah are likely sold to places from as far west as California to as far east as Chicago.
McIntyre said the problem currently is probably from the pressure from other states that are cracking down on cultivation.
"They're coming here because of the pressure by police in California," McIntyre said.
Nevertheless, Roe said he wants the public to recognize the increase in marijuana growing in the park, but does not want it to affect the entertainment value of hiking, camping, hunting or fishing.
"We're just trying to pressure these guys to stop growing here," Roe said. "We're not trying to scare people off forest trails by any means."
Myers said he would still hike the southern Utah trails unless the problem persists, but hopes the problem will end before it gets out of hand.
"If it becomes more and more common it probably will effect me," Myers said. "I just hope it won't get me away from the solitude and enjoyment of hiking."
hxxp://tinyurl.com/dmx8vk
:hubba:
