Pubdate: Thu, 03 Apr 2008
Source: Monterey County Weekly (CA)
Copyright: 2008 Milestone Communications Inc
Contact:  http://www.montereycountyweekly.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3959
Author: Kera Abraham
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?208 (Environmental Issues)

Local Pot-Busting Team Loses Funding

VOLUNTEERS PREPARE TO CLEAN UP BUSTED GROW SITES.

The 15-year-old County of Monterey Marijuana Eradication Team soon 
may be jonesing for more green. COMMET, which was granted $177,000 in 
the 2007-08 fiscal year, recently received notice from the Governor's 
Office of Emergency Services that its federal funding likely will dry up.

The federal Justice Assistance Act has historically supported COMMET 
and other pot-busting programs, according to OES counter-drug chief 
Gina Buccieri-Harrington. But until and unless the feds renew the 
funding, she says, the programs will be suspended.

Sheriff's Narcotics Detective Sgt. Dan Karamitis says that without 
federal support, the county will have to cough up more cash for 
eradication efforts.

Meanwhile, wilderness advocates and Los Padres National Forest 
officials have worked out a tentative agreement to let volunteers 
clean up busted pot-growing sites on public lands.

Every year, law enforcement officers confiscate tens of thousands of 
illegal pot plants in Monterey County. But neither the sheriff's 
department nor the U.S. Forest Service has done much to clean up the 
tons of trash or restore the acres of fouled landscape left behind.

For almost two years, Ventana Wilderness Alliance President Tom 
Hopkins has been pressuring Los Padres officials to let his 
volunteers do the cleanup for free. "Given the Forest Service's 
funding, they weren't going to get to it," Hopkins says. "And we had 
volunteers that felt strongly about stewardship on public lands."

But Los Padres officials stalled, hung up on the logistics and safety 
concerns. Forest patrol captain Ray Gould wanted to have an operating 
plan in place before letting volunteers tackle the potentially 
dangerous sites, as the Weekly reported last September.

Six months later, forest officials have agreed to let the volunteers 
do their thing. The turnaround may have been due to pressure from 
U.S. Forest Service Chief Gail Kimbell and the regional forester, 
according to Monterey District Ranger John Bradford. "For all of us, 
it was 'The boss wants to see this done, so we better get it done,' " he says.

VWA volunteers will clean up a small site in April. If all goes well, 
they'll tackle a bigger one in May.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom