Large pot farm found and destroyed in Colorado

A large marijuana farm was recently found and destroyed in Pike National Forest in Colorado.

The Denver Post reports the farm contained more than 3,000 plants worth $900,000.

"Law Enforcement Officers from the U.S. Forest Service and Douglas County Sheriff’s Office have completed an eradication operation on an illegal marijuana growing site in the Pike National Forest," The Douglas County Colorado Sheriff's Department said in a statement. "The joint operation involved Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies."

Crews removed the plants and dismantled an irrigation system on Tuesday, and helicopters were used to transport the plants away from the area. No arrests have been made in connection with the farm.

“Over the last three years, large-scale marijuana grow operations have been discovered on National Forest lands in Colorado," Laura Mark, U.S. Forest Service Special Agent in Charge, said in a statement. "These grow operations are believed to be connected to the Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTO) that have proliferated on public lands throughout California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Utah, and are now being found in the northeastern, southeastern and southwestern states."

Since 2009, 13 illegal marijuana grow sites have been eradicated in Colorado.

According to the Post, a 4,400-plant farm was destroyed in September 2010, and a 5,100-plant one in July 2009.

The Sheriff's Department also warned that the farms pose an environmental risk.

The illegal use of pesticides can cause extensive long-term damage to natural resources. For example, the supply of public drinking water for hundreds of miles may be impacted because of one marijuana growing site. Overall, the negative impact of marijuana sites on natural resources is severe.