T
The420Guy
Guest
When you ask outsiders what comes to mind when they think of Humboldt
County, a lot of them will say it's the great redwood forests. Or the
rugged coast. Perhaps the Victorian homes of Ferndale and Eureka.
Chances are a lot more of them will say marijuana.
Pot -- legal and illegal -- is a fact of life on the North Coast.
Songs and stories have been written about it, there have been
international news stories about it and to certain people Humboldt
County means only one thing.
It's a problem for some and a cause for others. It's a crime, a
community, a medication, a business, a commodity, a jail sentence and
a way of life.
Over the years hundreds of thousands of marijuana plants have been
destroyed, thousands of people have been arrested and millions of
dollars have been made.
"Humboldt is the nexus point of the whole growing movement," said
Steve Bloom, senior editor of High Times Magazine, a New York
City-based publication distributed worldwide and dedicated to the
complete coverage of marijuana.
'Got Humboldt?'
"It's kind of like Napa to wine," Bloom said. "Mendo(cino) and
Humboldt are the Napa and Sonoma of marijuana country. There's no
doubt about it, it's got the No. 1 reputation in the country. The
people who left San Francisco and other parts in the '60s came up
here and started doing the growing and established the whole growing
industry.
"The Northern California growers are greatly responsible even for
what's happening in Amsterdam. Certainly the Dutch are smart enough
to realize good seeds and breeding when they see it. Even the 'Got
Humboldt' T-shirts are funny because you can get the joke if you have
any idea what it's about. If you're not a pot smoker you may not know
the Humboldt reputation, but that's for those to know."
One man, who wished to remain anonymous, traveled from Los Angeles
County recently to attend the Humboldt Harvest Bash in Eureka, an
event centered on marijuana.
"Automatically, in Los Angeles, if I heard 'I got some Humboldt' from
somebody I'd be like, all right let's go," the man said.
A special Marijuana Eradication Unit was attached to the Humboldt
County Sheriff's Department in 1983. It has found and destroyed more
than 40,000 marijuana plants so far this year.
There have been crimes, mostly home invasion-type robberies, where
the perpetrators were after the pot growing in the house. A number of
homicides over the years are also believed to be pot related.
Sgt. Wayne Hanson of the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department Drug
Enforcement Unit said that over the last 20 years the high amount of
marijuana cases that have come through the county have made the
courts and the cops indifferent on the subject.
"Over the years Humboldt County's getting numb on the cases," Hanson
said. "What happens in the county is everyone, even local judges and
the probation office, get kind of numb on all the marijuana cases. A
lot of people in Humboldt County grow marijuana and when we catch
them they get probation: no one ever spends any time behind bars."
Hanson's generalization shows his frustration, because there are some
growers who are sentenced to hefty jail terms. One that is talked
about among growers, smokers and police is the 1998 indoor grow on
Lord Ellis Summit off State Route 299. Five people were arrested
after officers from numerous agencies, including the Drug Enforcement
Agency, raided a two-story house and found that it was completely
gutted -- with the shell of a normal-looking home outside -- just for
marijuana growing. Around 12,000 plants were found and reports say
the growers were making $50,000 a month on pot. All of the people
involved got a minimum sentence of 20 years in state prison. It is
the biggest indoor bust in California history.
A Humboldt County native who has been a part of the marijuana growing
community for more than 10 years said the reputation has always been
there.
"It's grown here as long as I can remember, as long as anyone can
remember," said Dave, who used a fictitious name. "Even in the '60s
this area was known all over the world for the amount of potency that
we had compared to everything else."
A growing crime problem
"In Humboldt County and the other counties people are killed on a
regular basis for their marijuana," Hanson said. "I get blue in the
face at the violent crimes that we have, even the ones that aren't
reported. I look at it as like the Gold Rush of 1849, when gold is
worth so much and people are getting killed. Here we are in the last
20 to 30 years, because marijuana is $3,000 a pound which equates to
almost what gold is worth."
Bloom agrees with the Old West analogy.
"It's kind of like the Wild West, it's got the reputation of watch
out, booby traps and guns. Not that growers are violent -- but
they're protective, I'm sure. They've established their turf and
territory," Bloom said.
On Sept. 17 the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department responded to a
call of an accidental shooting near Honeydew where a man was shot in
the elbow. Upon investigation the Sheriff's Department learned that
six men in their 20s from the Monterey area drove up to Honeydew to
look for marijuana gardens in the woods. One was shot, perhaps
accidentally. The case is still under investigation.
Pot growers don't just stick to farming their own land, but also grow
on other private land and on public lands as well.
"People laugh at me all the time because I say we're here to make
Humboldt County safer," Hanson said. "Over the years people's
property rights have been violated. You can own 40 acres of land,
live in LA and come up to, let's say Honeydew, to enjoy your summer.
And you're ordered off your land because someone was trespassing,
growing dope on your land."
When the unit finds an unmanned garden on someone's property or
public lands they decide whether to stake it out and wait for the
farmer to return.
"It's common knowledge that we do stake out marijuana grows," Hanson
said. "We confirm them, deploy officers and wait for a suspect to
come in and either tend their plants or show some sort of
cultivation. They're videotaped and arrested immediately."
As of Oct. 1, the unit had made 74 arrests so for this year and along
with those arrests, 115 firearms have been confiscated.
"I've found stolen ones (firearms), fully autos, silencers," Hanson
said. "It's a violent thing. This year we've recovered stolen
vehicles and stolen property. It's not a victimless crime some people
say it is, which is kind of irritating."
Make it legal?
Dave said if you decriminalize marijuana the crime will go away.
"The crime is because it's illegal," Dave said. "Any time you have
something like that, where it's worth more than its weight in gold,
people are going to want it. And if people want it there's always
going to be someone out there who will go that extra step and break
the law to get it. It's just going to be that way until it's legal.
Until everyone can grow it legally in their back yard and there's no
reason to take it because it's easier to grow it, there will still be
crime involved."
Getting busted doesn't mean a grower necessarily is going to stop.
"If they're outdoor growers they're starting their next garden within
a year of being put on probation," Dave said. "If they're indoor
growers they're probably not going to start it in their house because
their probation officer will come check on them. But if they have the
knowledge and they know they can harvest big indoor every three
months why wouldn't they put their knowledge to work at someone
else's house?"
The environmental impact
Marijuana "grows," especially rural indoor grows, bring with them a
lot of environmental issues.
"We see it all the time. We get (the Department of) Environmental
Health involved," said Hanson. "Most of the indoors in rural areas
are powered by diesel generators. The people change the oil in the
generators and it goes right into the ground, which goes into the
streams, which goes into the rivers. The diesel will have leaks and
spillages, it goes into the ground and into the creeks. Then there's
rat poison they put out because rats eat marijuana, and all the
fertilizers that they use."
Hanson said every year there are structure fires in rural areas
caused by malfunctioning equipment in indoor marijuana grows.
Dave said most growers don't care about the havoc they wreak on the
environment, just the money they will make.
"A lot of times it's because people don't take care of their
generators," Dave said. "They have a leaky generator leaking oils and
fuel into the water system which basically comes back into their
house because they're all running off wells anyway."
According to Dave, a lot of the growers have switched to propane
generators because they're quieter, not for the environmental reasons.
"It's all about money," Dave said. "They're making the money, they
don't care about destroying a little bit of water here and there.
They don't look at it in the big picture that in 20 years of 100
people leaking a couple drops of oil a day into the creek, in 100
years it's going to kill every fish in the area."
The money
"A lot of these growers are making literally millions of dollars a
year. Millions. And people just don't realize it," Hanson said.
He described a case last year in which one grower had a new Dodge
Viper, a new Ford Excursion diesel, a new speed boat and two Harley
Davidson motorcycles.
"His monthly vehicle payment was like $12,000 a month and he's
showing (yearly) income at around $40,000 to the IRS," Hanson said.
Dave said multiple millions of dollars can be made every year just
from the pot grown in Humboldt County.
"It's worth more than gold," Dave confirmed. "You figure, depending
on who you know, street price for an eighth of an ounce is anywhere
between $40 and $60. For an ounce it's anywhere between $250 and
$300, quarter-pounds $800 and $1,000, pounds between $3,500 and
$4,000. Depending on who you know. There's a lot of money to be made,
there's thousands and thousands of pounds coming out of here every
year."
Targeting commercial growers
"Three-hundred and sixty-five days a year we eradicate marijuana,"
Hanson said. "Because the county of Humboldt has such a large
marijuana problem, I do green marijuana only. But if it's just like a
meth lab or something like that I'll steer them in the right
direction to get a hold of the local drug Task Force who takes care
of the white dope problem."
Agent Ron Prose of the Humboldt County Drug Task Force said his unit
mostly comes across marijuana when an agency, like the California
Highway Patrol, makes a stop and the driver is transporting the drug.
They have also been part of some big indoor busts in McKinleyville.
"If it comes our way we're not going to turn it down," Prose said.
The Marijuana Eradication Unit, also known as the Drug Enforcement
Unit or Team, for the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department is run by
Hanson with two full-time deputies under him. The unit has been
grant-funded since 1983; Hanson has been the sergeant in charge since
2000. On his days off since 1987, Hanson has put in some overtime
working with the unit.
Hanson said he doesn't go after the small or medicinal growers.
"The only people I target, in investigations or anything else, is the
commercial marijuana growers who are making large sums of profits,"
Hanson said.
Hanson believes that the unit is a vital asset to the county and the=
community.
"Some people in the community want the Sheriff's Department Marijuana
Eradication Team to go away and the money to be spent other places,"
Hanson said. "My unit, and I harp all the time, has assisted the
detectives in arresting homicide suspects and investigating homicides
with our detectives because we have the extra manpower. If there's a
natural disaster the first ones who are going to respond will be the
Drug Enforcement Unit."
Because the unit is mobile and tactical it will be the first on the
scene in most emergency situations.
"Our primary function is marijuana eradication but we're here to
assist wherever needed," Hanson said.
The unit doesn't just eradicate outdoor marijuana but indoor as well.
"If you're living here and your next-door neighbor is growing dope
and all you do is smell the dope every night, because that stuff's
kind of pungent, you get pretty sick of that," Hanson said. "We take
care of that too. Everyone's evolving to go indoor. You get three
crops a year and it's easier to conceal it."
The Humboldt County Sheriff's Department works hand-in-hand with the
Drug Enforcement Agency, unlike what recently happened in Santa Cruz
County when DEA agents raided a medicinal marijuana farm without
consulting local law enforcement agencies.
"In our larger grows we like to get the DEA involved to get federal
sentencing," Hanson said.
Even though every case is different, Hanson said anywhere between 500
and 1,000 plants can be enough to get the federal government involved.
And yes, the unit subscribes to High Times Magazine.
CAMPing in Humboldt County
The Campaign Against Marijuana Planting is part of the California
Department of Justice. It only operates eight weeks out of the year,
from early August until the end of September. Agencies that make up
CAMP are the Department of Justice, the California Highway Patrol and
the California National Guard.
"What CAMP does is eight weeks during the year they help counties
with outdoor eradication," Hanson said. "With the helicopters and the
extra manpower, because it's quite labor intensive and for officer
safety, you have more people in the field. They come up to assist us
and we direct them where to go. They contact me and I tell them 'yes
I have work for you, meet me at such and such location and come with
me.' So I know where the gardens are; I found them. They're just here
to assist. We do all the paperwork, we do all the prosecution. People
always get confused with CAMP and the Sheriff's Office because the
Drug Enforcement Unit is funded through a state grant which supplies
a sergeant, two deputies, my secretary and three 4 by 4 vehicles.
People always get confused, like one of our local supervisors; if the
grant went away, CAMP's still coming. They're a separate entity with
separate funding, so say if our grant went away and people don't like
CAMP coming into Humboldt County because it's politically sensitive
- -- CAMP's still coming."
CAMP is nationally known, especially among the marijuana community.
"On the political front there's the CAMP and things like that but it
seems that, from what I can tell, it's a really strong community here
that has banded together over the years to fight back the
government's efforts to stop them from doing what they've decided to
do in this area of the world," Bloom said.
According to Dave, growers are well aware of CAMP's movements when
the agency is in the area.
"CAMP comes out of the sky and they like to take things," Dave said.
"A lot of times they're nice about it and they don't destroy the area
but I have seen places where they destroyed the entire area. I've
seen them make a landing pad for the helicopter in the middle of the
woods; that's destroying the environment just as much as the people
who are out there. They're here to do a job; I can understand why,
and I don't dislike them personally for what they're doing because it
is illegal."
Dave described a time when he was tending to plants in the woods and
he heard the CAMP helicopter coming. He had a path already made and
hid in a hole he'd dug under a log. The helicopter kept going.
"It is a game," Dave said. "When that 'copter comes over your head in
the woods the adrenaline hits and it's like cat and mouse, you got to
run and hide. That's the way most of the people in this area look at
it."
Pubdate: 21 Oct 2002
Source: Eureka Times-Standard (CA)
Website: Times-Standard
County, a lot of them will say it's the great redwood forests. Or the
rugged coast. Perhaps the Victorian homes of Ferndale and Eureka.
Chances are a lot more of them will say marijuana.
Pot -- legal and illegal -- is a fact of life on the North Coast.
Songs and stories have been written about it, there have been
international news stories about it and to certain people Humboldt
County means only one thing.
It's a problem for some and a cause for others. It's a crime, a
community, a medication, a business, a commodity, a jail sentence and
a way of life.
Over the years hundreds of thousands of marijuana plants have been
destroyed, thousands of people have been arrested and millions of
dollars have been made.
"Humboldt is the nexus point of the whole growing movement," said
Steve Bloom, senior editor of High Times Magazine, a New York
City-based publication distributed worldwide and dedicated to the
complete coverage of marijuana.
'Got Humboldt?'
"It's kind of like Napa to wine," Bloom said. "Mendo(cino) and
Humboldt are the Napa and Sonoma of marijuana country. There's no
doubt about it, it's got the No. 1 reputation in the country. The
people who left San Francisco and other parts in the '60s came up
here and started doing the growing and established the whole growing
industry.
"The Northern California growers are greatly responsible even for
what's happening in Amsterdam. Certainly the Dutch are smart enough
to realize good seeds and breeding when they see it. Even the 'Got
Humboldt' T-shirts are funny because you can get the joke if you have
any idea what it's about. If you're not a pot smoker you may not know
the Humboldt reputation, but that's for those to know."
One man, who wished to remain anonymous, traveled from Los Angeles
County recently to attend the Humboldt Harvest Bash in Eureka, an
event centered on marijuana.
"Automatically, in Los Angeles, if I heard 'I got some Humboldt' from
somebody I'd be like, all right let's go," the man said.
A special Marijuana Eradication Unit was attached to the Humboldt
County Sheriff's Department in 1983. It has found and destroyed more
than 40,000 marijuana plants so far this year.
There have been crimes, mostly home invasion-type robberies, where
the perpetrators were after the pot growing in the house. A number of
homicides over the years are also believed to be pot related.
Sgt. Wayne Hanson of the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department Drug
Enforcement Unit said that over the last 20 years the high amount of
marijuana cases that have come through the county have made the
courts and the cops indifferent on the subject.
"Over the years Humboldt County's getting numb on the cases," Hanson
said. "What happens in the county is everyone, even local judges and
the probation office, get kind of numb on all the marijuana cases. A
lot of people in Humboldt County grow marijuana and when we catch
them they get probation: no one ever spends any time behind bars."
Hanson's generalization shows his frustration, because there are some
growers who are sentenced to hefty jail terms. One that is talked
about among growers, smokers and police is the 1998 indoor grow on
Lord Ellis Summit off State Route 299. Five people were arrested
after officers from numerous agencies, including the Drug Enforcement
Agency, raided a two-story house and found that it was completely
gutted -- with the shell of a normal-looking home outside -- just for
marijuana growing. Around 12,000 plants were found and reports say
the growers were making $50,000 a month on pot. All of the people
involved got a minimum sentence of 20 years in state prison. It is
the biggest indoor bust in California history.
A Humboldt County native who has been a part of the marijuana growing
community for more than 10 years said the reputation has always been
there.
"It's grown here as long as I can remember, as long as anyone can
remember," said Dave, who used a fictitious name. "Even in the '60s
this area was known all over the world for the amount of potency that
we had compared to everything else."
A growing crime problem
"In Humboldt County and the other counties people are killed on a
regular basis for their marijuana," Hanson said. "I get blue in the
face at the violent crimes that we have, even the ones that aren't
reported. I look at it as like the Gold Rush of 1849, when gold is
worth so much and people are getting killed. Here we are in the last
20 to 30 years, because marijuana is $3,000 a pound which equates to
almost what gold is worth."
Bloom agrees with the Old West analogy.
"It's kind of like the Wild West, it's got the reputation of watch
out, booby traps and guns. Not that growers are violent -- but
they're protective, I'm sure. They've established their turf and
territory," Bloom said.
On Sept. 17 the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department responded to a
call of an accidental shooting near Honeydew where a man was shot in
the elbow. Upon investigation the Sheriff's Department learned that
six men in their 20s from the Monterey area drove up to Honeydew to
look for marijuana gardens in the woods. One was shot, perhaps
accidentally. The case is still under investigation.
Pot growers don't just stick to farming their own land, but also grow
on other private land and on public lands as well.
"People laugh at me all the time because I say we're here to make
Humboldt County safer," Hanson said. "Over the years people's
property rights have been violated. You can own 40 acres of land,
live in LA and come up to, let's say Honeydew, to enjoy your summer.
And you're ordered off your land because someone was trespassing,
growing dope on your land."
When the unit finds an unmanned garden on someone's property or
public lands they decide whether to stake it out and wait for the
farmer to return.
"It's common knowledge that we do stake out marijuana grows," Hanson
said. "We confirm them, deploy officers and wait for a suspect to
come in and either tend their plants or show some sort of
cultivation. They're videotaped and arrested immediately."
As of Oct. 1, the unit had made 74 arrests so for this year and along
with those arrests, 115 firearms have been confiscated.
"I've found stolen ones (firearms), fully autos, silencers," Hanson
said. "It's a violent thing. This year we've recovered stolen
vehicles and stolen property. It's not a victimless crime some people
say it is, which is kind of irritating."
Make it legal?
Dave said if you decriminalize marijuana the crime will go away.
"The crime is because it's illegal," Dave said. "Any time you have
something like that, where it's worth more than its weight in gold,
people are going to want it. And if people want it there's always
going to be someone out there who will go that extra step and break
the law to get it. It's just going to be that way until it's legal.
Until everyone can grow it legally in their back yard and there's no
reason to take it because it's easier to grow it, there will still be
crime involved."
Getting busted doesn't mean a grower necessarily is going to stop.
"If they're outdoor growers they're starting their next garden within
a year of being put on probation," Dave said. "If they're indoor
growers they're probably not going to start it in their house because
their probation officer will come check on them. But if they have the
knowledge and they know they can harvest big indoor every three
months why wouldn't they put their knowledge to work at someone
else's house?"
The environmental impact
Marijuana "grows," especially rural indoor grows, bring with them a
lot of environmental issues.
"We see it all the time. We get (the Department of) Environmental
Health involved," said Hanson. "Most of the indoors in rural areas
are powered by diesel generators. The people change the oil in the
generators and it goes right into the ground, which goes into the
streams, which goes into the rivers. The diesel will have leaks and
spillages, it goes into the ground and into the creeks. Then there's
rat poison they put out because rats eat marijuana, and all the
fertilizers that they use."
Hanson said every year there are structure fires in rural areas
caused by malfunctioning equipment in indoor marijuana grows.
Dave said most growers don't care about the havoc they wreak on the
environment, just the money they will make.
"A lot of times it's because people don't take care of their
generators," Dave said. "They have a leaky generator leaking oils and
fuel into the water system which basically comes back into their
house because they're all running off wells anyway."
According to Dave, a lot of the growers have switched to propane
generators because they're quieter, not for the environmental reasons.
"It's all about money," Dave said. "They're making the money, they
don't care about destroying a little bit of water here and there.
They don't look at it in the big picture that in 20 years of 100
people leaking a couple drops of oil a day into the creek, in 100
years it's going to kill every fish in the area."
The money
"A lot of these growers are making literally millions of dollars a
year. Millions. And people just don't realize it," Hanson said.
He described a case last year in which one grower had a new Dodge
Viper, a new Ford Excursion diesel, a new speed boat and two Harley
Davidson motorcycles.
"His monthly vehicle payment was like $12,000 a month and he's
showing (yearly) income at around $40,000 to the IRS," Hanson said.
Dave said multiple millions of dollars can be made every year just
from the pot grown in Humboldt County.
"It's worth more than gold," Dave confirmed. "You figure, depending
on who you know, street price for an eighth of an ounce is anywhere
between $40 and $60. For an ounce it's anywhere between $250 and
$300, quarter-pounds $800 and $1,000, pounds between $3,500 and
$4,000. Depending on who you know. There's a lot of money to be made,
there's thousands and thousands of pounds coming out of here every
year."
Targeting commercial growers
"Three-hundred and sixty-five days a year we eradicate marijuana,"
Hanson said. "Because the county of Humboldt has such a large
marijuana problem, I do green marijuana only. But if it's just like a
meth lab or something like that I'll steer them in the right
direction to get a hold of the local drug Task Force who takes care
of the white dope problem."
Agent Ron Prose of the Humboldt County Drug Task Force said his unit
mostly comes across marijuana when an agency, like the California
Highway Patrol, makes a stop and the driver is transporting the drug.
They have also been part of some big indoor busts in McKinleyville.
"If it comes our way we're not going to turn it down," Prose said.
The Marijuana Eradication Unit, also known as the Drug Enforcement
Unit or Team, for the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department is run by
Hanson with two full-time deputies under him. The unit has been
grant-funded since 1983; Hanson has been the sergeant in charge since
2000. On his days off since 1987, Hanson has put in some overtime
working with the unit.
Hanson said he doesn't go after the small or medicinal growers.
"The only people I target, in investigations or anything else, is the
commercial marijuana growers who are making large sums of profits,"
Hanson said.
Hanson believes that the unit is a vital asset to the county and the=
community.
"Some people in the community want the Sheriff's Department Marijuana
Eradication Team to go away and the money to be spent other places,"
Hanson said. "My unit, and I harp all the time, has assisted the
detectives in arresting homicide suspects and investigating homicides
with our detectives because we have the extra manpower. If there's a
natural disaster the first ones who are going to respond will be the
Drug Enforcement Unit."
Because the unit is mobile and tactical it will be the first on the
scene in most emergency situations.
"Our primary function is marijuana eradication but we're here to
assist wherever needed," Hanson said.
The unit doesn't just eradicate outdoor marijuana but indoor as well.
"If you're living here and your next-door neighbor is growing dope
and all you do is smell the dope every night, because that stuff's
kind of pungent, you get pretty sick of that," Hanson said. "We take
care of that too. Everyone's evolving to go indoor. You get three
crops a year and it's easier to conceal it."
The Humboldt County Sheriff's Department works hand-in-hand with the
Drug Enforcement Agency, unlike what recently happened in Santa Cruz
County when DEA agents raided a medicinal marijuana farm without
consulting local law enforcement agencies.
"In our larger grows we like to get the DEA involved to get federal
sentencing," Hanson said.
Even though every case is different, Hanson said anywhere between 500
and 1,000 plants can be enough to get the federal government involved.
And yes, the unit subscribes to High Times Magazine.
CAMPing in Humboldt County
The Campaign Against Marijuana Planting is part of the California
Department of Justice. It only operates eight weeks out of the year,
from early August until the end of September. Agencies that make up
CAMP are the Department of Justice, the California Highway Patrol and
the California National Guard.
"What CAMP does is eight weeks during the year they help counties
with outdoor eradication," Hanson said. "With the helicopters and the
extra manpower, because it's quite labor intensive and for officer
safety, you have more people in the field. They come up to assist us
and we direct them where to go. They contact me and I tell them 'yes
I have work for you, meet me at such and such location and come with
me.' So I know where the gardens are; I found them. They're just here
to assist. We do all the paperwork, we do all the prosecution. People
always get confused with CAMP and the Sheriff's Office because the
Drug Enforcement Unit is funded through a state grant which supplies
a sergeant, two deputies, my secretary and three 4 by 4 vehicles.
People always get confused, like one of our local supervisors; if the
grant went away, CAMP's still coming. They're a separate entity with
separate funding, so say if our grant went away and people don't like
CAMP coming into Humboldt County because it's politically sensitive
- -- CAMP's still coming."
CAMP is nationally known, especially among the marijuana community.
"On the political front there's the CAMP and things like that but it
seems that, from what I can tell, it's a really strong community here
that has banded together over the years to fight back the
government's efforts to stop them from doing what they've decided to
do in this area of the world," Bloom said.
According to Dave, growers are well aware of CAMP's movements when
the agency is in the area.
"CAMP comes out of the sky and they like to take things," Dave said.
"A lot of times they're nice about it and they don't destroy the area
but I have seen places where they destroyed the entire area. I've
seen them make a landing pad for the helicopter in the middle of the
woods; that's destroying the environment just as much as the people
who are out there. They're here to do a job; I can understand why,
and I don't dislike them personally for what they're doing because it
is illegal."
Dave described a time when he was tending to plants in the woods and
he heard the CAMP helicopter coming. He had a path already made and
hid in a hole he'd dug under a log. The helicopter kept going.
"It is a game," Dave said. "When that 'copter comes over your head in
the woods the adrenaline hits and it's like cat and mouse, you got to
run and hide. That's the way most of the people in this area look at
it."
Pubdate: 21 Oct 2002
Source: Eureka Times-Standard (CA)
Website: Times-Standard
