Sequoia National Park is home to the world’s largest trees and iconic birds including peregrine falcons and bald eagles. But in its backcountry, illegal marijuana grows are wreaking havoc on this biodiverse haven by diverting creeks, poisoning soil with pesticides and dumping thousands of pounds of waste.

On Thursday, the National Park Service announced a key win in its decades-long battle against these toxic farms: the removal of nearly 2,400 marijuana plants and around 2,000 pounds of trash from a 13-acre illegal grow site.

NPS law enforcement rangers initially found and raided the cultivation site last year but were unable to immediately move forward with rehabilitation because of the presence of several hazardous chemicals including methamidophos , an insecticide banned in the Unit

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