A regional task force reports that officials eradicated a record number of marijuana plants being grown on Colorado public land in 2017.
The Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area reports nearly 81,000 plants were destroyed, up from 45,000 in 2016.
The Denver Post reports the number of illegal marijuana plant grows has been increasing since the state began legal recreational marijuana sales in 2014.
Task force director Tom Gorman tells the Post that it's a lot cheaper for people to conduct illegal — and hidden — grows on public land.
That includes the San Isabel and White River national forests.
