On September 10th and 11th, rangers and Marin County officers entered another marijuana plantation in the park and confiscated approximately 3,540 marijuana plants with an estimated street value of $8.75 million dollars. The growing site was located on Inverness Ridge in a remote hidden drainage in the Muddy Hollow area. A contract helicopter hauled out twenty loads of marijuana plants over the course of four hours on Monday. In July, 2,500 plants were removed from a site in the Bolinas Ridge area; another 22,740 plants were removed in late August. The estimated street value of the marijuana removed to date has been estimated at over $71 million. The area under cultivation suffered extensive resource damage from the growing operations and intensive use of the area. A comprehensive resource assessment was conducted after evidence was collected at the new site. As was the case at the other sites, the area’s native vegetation was damaged, water systems were constructed, and a small hidden camp was constructed. Growers are killing wildlife, diverting streams that contain threatened species of fish, using harmful pesticides, and bringing the presence of violence to these natural areas. Efforts are underway to remove all the garbage from the site and to begin restoration work. The cost of the restoration effort and other costs for all the sites damaged has been placed at about $100,000.
