Back in July, local officers organized a raid on marijuana cultivation sites in the foothills of the Sierra opposite Independence. This month, the Forest Service reported that they worked with the Inyo Sheriff's Department and military counter drug taskforce units to remove the major infrastructure used to grow the large marijuana garden in Shepherd Creek Canyon.marijuana_plants.jpg

In July, the work amounted to removal of tens of thousands of marijuana plants. The latest effort involed removal of campsites, trash, poisons, fertilizers, growing equipment and plastic hose. Authorities estimate that the illegal grow was going on for multiple years.

Two of the growers were arrested in July. Officers said they were from a drug trafficking organization. The men were indicted by a federal grand jury in Fresno.

The Shepherd Creek marijuana garden was located in the John Muir Wilderness in habitat critical to the endangered California Bighorn Sheep.

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