I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2735 
To direct the United States Sentencing Commission with respect to penalties 
for the unlawful production of a controlled substance on Federal property 
or intentional trespass on the property of another that causes environ-
mental damage. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 18, 2013 
Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. THOMPSON of California, and 
Mr. LAMBORN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To direct the United States Sentencing Commission with 
respect to penalties for the unlawful production of a 
controlled substance on Federal property or intentional 
trespass on the property of another that causes environ-
mental damage. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Lands 
Against Narcotics Trafficking Act of 2013’’ or the 
‘‘PLANT Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) In 2012, well over 900,000 marijuana 
plants were eradicated from 471 sites on National 
Forest lands in 20 States from Hawaii to Virginia. 
This represents just part of total eradication efforts 
on public lands. 
(2) Across Federal land management agency 
holdings including U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. 
National Park Service, the U.S. Bureau of Land 
Management, and the U.S. Forest Service, mari-
juana grows have commonly been found in excess of 
1,000 plants per cultivation site and some have in-
cluded more than 200,000 plants. 
(3) As a result of these grow sites, public and 
private lands are being destroyed by chemical con-
tamination and alteration of watersheds; diversion of 
natural water courses; elimination of native vegeta-
tion; wildfire hazards; poaching of wildlife; and 
harmful disposal of garbage, non-biodegradable ma-
terial litter, and human waste. In many cases the 
damage is being done to watersheds where millions 
of dollars in Federal and State funds have been 
spent to improve conditions for threatened fish and 
wildlife species. 
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(4) Research has found that listed and can-
didate species under the Endangered Species Act 
like the Pacific fisher and Northern Spotted Owl 
have been killed by poisons and hazardous sub-
stances at marijuana cultivation sites, increasing 
pressure on legal land users to undertake conserva-
tion measures. 
(5) State and Federal fish and wildlife officials 
have found that environmentally destructive prac-
tices resulting from illegal marijuana cultivation, in-
cluding the removal of timber and vegetation, can 
lead to excess river and stream sedimentation in 
areas needed by salmon and other protected fish 
populations. 
(6) Timber companies, farmers, and ranchers in 
northwest California report that illegal marijuana 
cultivation on private lands has caused significant 
damage to livestock, agriculture, and natural re-
sources. 
(7) A single 2011 operation titled Operation 
Full Court Press in Mendocino National Forest 
(CA) located 56 cultivation sites and interdicted 32 
firearms, 1,510 pounds of processed marijuana, 
more than 468,950 plants and resulted in 102 ar-
rests. The operation also removed 23 tons of trash, 
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