Multiple use management has been a goal of public land managers for years. Balancing the needs and eliminating the conflicts of all users has been challenging. For the past 30 years there has been a type of user that is not welcome on public land.

The illegal growth and cultivation of marijuana has destroyed and contaminated thousands of acres of public lands in America. In fact, more than 2,500,000 marijuana plants have been found and eradicated on National Forest lands since 1997. The damage begins when marijuana farmers burn off native vegetation, destroying natural wildlife habitats. Some growers clear cultivation areas with chain saws and spread fertilizers and pesticides. The arsenic-based poisons kill small animals and rodents and in turn, the larger animals and birds that consume them, devastating the food chain and area water supplies.

Often, tons of trash and high concentrations of human waste are left behind by smugglers, who come to the U.S. to care for the crops. This impacts wildlife, vegetation and water quality along rivers and streams. It also detracts from natural, scenic qualities and can affect human and animal health from spread of bacteria and disease.

Methamphetamine or "meth" labs, using inexpensive over-the-counter chemicals to process the drug, can cause soil and water contamination, threaten fish and stream wildlife and create fires. For each pound of "meth" produced, five to six pounds of hazardous waste are generated, posing immediate and long-term environmental and health risks. For example, National Forest Service employees who have been in contact with meth dump sites have become ill. The waste contains chemicals such as lye, red phosphorus, hydriodic acid and iodine. Some of this hazardous waste is dumped directly into domestic water wells, farmland and mine shafts, creating broader public health risks from contaminated water.

And in California, for example, chemicals from large meth lab dump sites have killed livestock, contaminated streams, and destroyed large areas of trees and vegetation in that state. (source http://italy.usembassy.gov/viewer/article.asp?article=/file2003_04/alia/A3041806.htm )

Those of us that use public lands as our work place must be alert to these kinds of activities in order to protect our health and safety. Many sites are often “booby trapped” with trip wires attached to guns, explosives, fish hooks and other types of traps to deter people from discovering their illegal operations. Quite often, these sites are guarded by armed criminals. The byproducts of meth labs are highly toxic and can cause long term health problems and even death.

Educate yourselves to be able to recognize the common elements associated with illegal drug operations. Maintaining high “Situational Awareness” as well as “Look Up, Look Down, Look All Around,” apply as much to illegal activities in the forest as it does to fire safety.

Following are some web sites that provide insight in to what we need to be aware of in order to avoid unsafe situations involved with illegal drug activity on public lands.

http://www.esf.edu/for/schuster/372%20fall%2007/Readings/meth-1.pdf

Forest Service testimony to Congress on illegal activities on Federal Lands

http://www.fs.fed.us/congress/108/house/oversight/gaffrey/101003.html

Department of Justice Report on meth and Marijuana on Public Lands

http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs10/10402/10402p.pdf

Question/Answer brochure on meth lab identification

http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs7/7341/7341p.pdf

MTDC powerpoint on meth production

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http://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/flash/fla07672F03/