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Officials last week dismantled a sprawling illegal marijuana cultivation site hidden deep inside Sequoia National Park, hauling out thousands of plants and nearly a ton of toxic debris that had scarred the wilderness.
Crews removed 2,377 full-grown marijuana plants and nearly 2,000 pounds of trash and infrastructure from a site that damaged roughly 13 acres in the protected California parkland, the National Park Service (NPS) said on Thursday. Much of the material was removed by hand and lifted out by helicopter by NPS law enforcement rangers as well as Bureau of Land Management special agents, the agency added.
Authorities said the cultivation bore the hallmarks of a well-organized drug-trafficking operation—the kind that has plagued Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks for nearly 20 years. In that time, officials eradicated close to 300,000 plants worth an estimated $850 million inside the two parks.
Authorities first discovered the marijuana farm in 2024, and while they raided it at the time they did not remove it entirely until this year due to the presence of dangerous chemicals, according to NPS. When crews returned this year, they found a semi-automatic pistol, makeshift campsites with kitchen areas and chemicals including approximately a gallon of the insecticide Methamidophos, which was banned in the U.S. more than 15 years ago.
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A federal law enforcement ranger scopes out an illegal marijuana cultivation site. (National Park Service)
Rangers also found far more than just the marijuana plants, documenting that they observed evidence of poaching, the clearing out of natural vegetation, nearly two miles of illegal trails, terraced grow plots carved into the hillside, and large pits that appeared to have been created to store water that was diverted from a nearby creek.
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Visitors walk in Crescent Meadow in Sequoia National Park, California, on Monday, June 30, 2025. (Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register)
Officials said the impact of the illegal growing operation extends far beyond the 13 acres it occupied.
Runoff from the site may have been contaminated by a large variety of pesticides that were used in growing marijuana, the NPS said, potentially exposing both park visitors and wildlife to toxic materials.
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A sign of the National Park Service hangs at the entrance of a national park on May 21, 2024. (National Park Service)
Creeks siphoned to supply water for both the crops and camps would have otherwise nurtured wildlife and park vegetation, the NPS said. Each marijuana plant can consume six to eight gallons of water per day, the agency added, citing the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Fox News Digital reached out to the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management for more information.
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No arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about illegal cultivation on park land is asked to call the NPS tip line at 888-653-0009.