EVIDENCE OF AN ON-SITE GARDENERS’ CAMP WAS DISCOVERED WHEN LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT TEAMS BUSTED A NUMBER OF MARIJUANA GARDENS LAST WEEK. NO ARRESTS WERE MADE. So far, 2010 has been on track to set records for the most marijuana plants seized in a season. Last week, local law enforcement set another record, taking over the largest marijuana complex eradicated in Mariposa County history.

According to Undersheriff Doug Binnewies, deputies, members of the probation department, Bureau of Land Management and

California State Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) eradicated several illegal wilderness marijuana gardens from two different areas of Mariposa County. The operations took place on June 23 and 24.

The first day ended with two wilderness gardens being eradicated totaling 24,355 plants. The garden was located in the Hunters Valley Mountain area.

THESE PLANTS WERE TAKEN AS PART OF MARIPOSA COUNTY’S LARGEST MARIJUANA GARDEN BUST IN HISTORY LAST WEEK. SO FAR THIS YEAR, THE MARIPOSA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE HAS CONFISCATED MORE THAN 111,000 PLANTS. THAT FIGURE IS WELL AHEAD OF NORMAL AND EARLIER PROJECTIONS. One of these gardens, a complex of two large plots, totaled 19,535 mari- juana plants. That, according to Binnewies, appears to be the largest single marijuana complex eradicated in Mariposa County history. Eradication took the majority of the day to complete.

The second day found personnel in the Feliciana Mountain area, where three garden complexes were located. A total of 13,207 plants were eradicated from this area.

Binnewies said these gardens were located in rugged areas where officers were transported in by helicopter. “The two-day operation went well with no injuries reported and a combined total of 37,562 illegal marijuana plants were removed from our public lands,” Binnewies said.

All of the gardens appear to be related to Mexican drug trafficking organizations. So far this year, 111,446 marijuana plants have been pulled from public lands by local law enforcement.

Earlier this month, when the season’s plant count was at just 70,655, Mariposa County Sheriff Brian Muller said he expected this to be a record-breaking year for both the number of marijuana gardens and the number of plants seized, which he believes will jump to nearly 150,000. With the latest busts, that number will probably far surpass the sheriff’s expectations.

Muller believes the abundance of water and the growing demand for marijuana as reasons for the proliferation of gardens this year.

“The public is reminded to be aware of the potential dangers that exists within our public lands,” Muller said. “Always be aware of your surroundings.”

The sheriff said individuals are encouraged to immediately report any unusual or suspicious activity that they may encounter on public lands