Summit County deputies assisted Wasatch County in removing more than 2,500 marijuana plants less than a mile from a trail in Main Canyon in the Wasatch National Forest on Friday.
The field was reported to deputies by a hiker last week according to Wasatch County Chief Deputy Jared Rigby. Deputies staked out the area to see if the owner of the plants would return, but after waiting a week, they decided to destroy the field.
“Removing the plants in such difficult terrain took a long time,” said Summit County Detective Sergeant Ron Bridge.
BackNet, the Wasatch Back’s drug task force, and the DEA also assisted in the removal of the plants, which were described as infant plants without buds. Rigby said the field appeared to be abandoned and had a broken irrigation system.
The field was similar to the one found last year near Midway, according to Rigby.
Bridge said hidden marijuana fields are a major concern in Summit County’s forests.
“We have a lot of forest land and it is used by a lot of citizens,” he said. “This kind of thing is impossible to prevent, but we can make everyone aware so that citizens keep their eyes open.”
Rigby said deputies have seen an increase in marijuana production in northern Utah in the past few years and are running operations in the Wasatch Forest to see if any other fields exist.