Illegal marijuana grows, leave behind toxic chemicals in Sequoia, a brand new push for a

national park in Florida, and a sweeping vote to unionize by hundreds of park employees in

Yosemite and Sequoia in Kings Canyon. Plus, why visitors may find fewer services as the

Park Service workforce drinks and a beloved tradition at Capitol Reef National Park

is on hold after this year's fruit crop was wiped out. Those stories and more ahead on the

latest roundup of National Parks and Public Lands News. I'm Jason Epperson and this is Parkography.

National Park Service law enforcement rangers and special agents from the Bureau of Land

Management have removed an illegal marijuana cultivation site in Sequoia National Park.

A total of 2,377 full-grown marijuana plants and approximately 2,000 pounds of trash and infrastructure were removed

by hand and helicopter slingload operations. The site also contained a semi-automatic pistol

and several hazardous chemicals, including about one gallon of methamydophis, a highly toxic

insecticide banned in the United States since 2009.

Law enforcement rangers detected and raided this cultivation site in 2024, but the site was not

rehabilitated until this year due to the presence of the hazardous chemicals. No arrests have

been made and the investigation is ongoing. Damage to the approximately 13-acre area includes

diversion of the natural flow of water from a nearby creek and installation of irrigation lines,

construction of several large pits to store diverted water from a nearby creek, significant clearing

of natural vegetation, digging of terraces into the hillside for planting of marijuana,

development of campsites, kitchen areas, and cultivation sites, evidence of poaching activity,

and illegally maintained trails covering approximately two miles. A single marijuana plant uses

six to eight gallons of water a day that would otherwise nurture

wildlife and vegetation and runoff from large cultivation sites into other areas of the park

...