Sunday, May 20, 2001
Meth cooks dump waste in forests
Dan Hansen - Staff writer
Rangers in the Idaho Panhandle National Forests are seeing growing evidence of the region's methamphetamine habit.
"The brewing operations are definitely getting more mobile. People are doing it (brewing meth) out there, in the forest," said Dave O'Brien, spokesman for the Idaho Panhandle National Forests.
People long have dumped used appliances, junk cars and other trash in the woods for foresters to deal with. Now, some are cooking meth in town, then dumping the lethal remains on federal land, usually close to suburban areas, O'Brien said.
"Whatever they don't want in town, they dump in the forest," O'Brien said.
Rex Holloway, spokesman for national forests in Washington and Oregon, said marijuana plantations are still a bigger problem than are meth labs. Still, he knows of at least one trailer that was found on federal land, where it had been used as a meth lab.
Holloway said foresters are always nervous when approaching marijuana growing operations or meth labs.
"Sometimes they're booby-trapped," he said.
In the Republic (Wash.) Ranger District of the Colville National Forest, there's been little evidence of meth production, said spokeswoman Cindy Reichelt. But people have found dumps and other evidence on corporate land within a few hundred yards of national forest boundaries, she said.
"It's just a matter of time before they get here," Reichelt said.
