Over the past few weeks, raids conducted on marijuana plantations within the park resulted in the seizure of over 13,000 plants, arrests of three people, and the discovery of a small greenhouse constructed on park land for the purpose of marijuana cultivation. In early June, rangers and officers from the Shasta County Sheriff's Office, the North State Initiative California Multi-Agency Methamphetamine Enforcement Task Force (NSI-CALMMET) and the California Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement (BNE) raided a marijuana plant nursery and seized over 2,300 plants. This plantation was discovered after a park visitor reported seeing individuals running away from her as she was taking a break from a hike to one of the park's waterfalls. Further investigation revealed that the growers were tapping into the waterfall as a water supply for the nursery. On July 6th, a three-month-long interagency investigation involving the above organizations plus the California Highway Patrol and California National Guard culminated in a raid of another marijuana plantation. This time, 11,380 plants were seized and one person was arrested as he fled from the site. He’s currently in federal custody and facing from 10 to 40 years in prison on one count of marijuana cultivation. Subsequent to this raid, two more men suspected of cultivating marijuana were detained pending further investigation into their activities. On July 7th, a team of rangers from Whiskeytown, Lassen Volcanic and Redwood reconnoitered a suspected growing site in another area of the park and discovered an abandoned greenhouse. Upon further investigation, they found that it had apparently been used to cultivate marijuana. Plans are in place to dismantle the structure.
