Last modified: Friday, August 17, 2007 10:46 AM PDT Nestled in the remote White Horse Creek Basin this dark green garden of marijuana (above, center) was discovered Tuesday during an annual Oregon National Guard marijuana eradication flight over a remote southwest portion of Malheur County, along the Harney County border, 150 miles southwest of Ontario. Pot bust may signal trend By Andy Gates - Argus Observer VALE - Like other marijuana fields found in Oregon this month, a big pot harvest on public land discovered Tuesday by an Oregon Army National Guard aircraft in remote Malheur County may be part of a larger Mexican national growing operation. The Malheur County case involves 15,000 pot plants cultivated in the southwest corner of the county near the border of Harney County, approximately 150 miles southwest of Ontario and Vale. The big grow was first spotted Tuesday from the air during an “eradication flight” by the Oregon Army National Guard, and then authorities Wednesday traveled on foot to the site of the grow. “It has the earmarkings of what has begun to be referred to as Mexican national grows,” Malheur County Sheriff Andy Bentz said Thursday. Authorities determined some of the plants had been harvested, others were drying, and around 15,000 plants were still in the ground. The pot grow was located near White Horse Creek Basin. The exact location of the grow is not being released. A man from Central California was arrested Wednesday near the area of the pot field for unlawful manufacture of marijuana. That man, Sergio Lopez, 26, is lodged in the Malheur County Jail and he is also being held for federal immigration authorities, Bentz confirmed Thursday. At least two additional suspects in the case are at large, Bentz confirmed. Authorities believe a stolen dump truck, that later caught on fire, was used by suspects connected to the marijuana grow operation who were attempting to leave the area, Bentz said. Marijuana was not inside the truck, the sheriff confirmed. Before Lopez was arrested he hitchhiked until he was picked up by a citizen. He had also called police, Bentz said, because he was “lost.” “We were already headed to the area to help him,” Bentz said. The last pot grow operation found on federal land in Malheur County occurred in 2005 in the Jonsboro area and involved six gardens with around 11,000 plants, Bentz said. “We were not successful in locating any (pot gardens) in the county last year. This is the first of this type we have located this year ... We’re afraid we’re going to be finding more,” the sheriff said. Pot gardens have been popping up across Oregon this month. For example, authorities in Jackson County removed thousands of marijuana plants this week 20 miles southwest of Medford, which could be connected to a Mexican drug cartel that is growing pot for national distribution. Four men were arrested in connection to that Medford case, and they are all being held for immigration authorities, the Associated Press reported. Bentz said authorities do not know if the local pot garden and the Medford case are connected. Historically, illegal pot grows tend to produce product that is distributed nationally and possibly internationally, Bentz confirmed. The use of public lands for cannabis cultivation is increasing, according to a 2007 assessment from the National Drug Intelligence Center. Pot gardens are also apparently more common this time of year. “This is also the time of year ... Everybody (law enforcement) gets stretched thin during marijuana grows,” Bentz said. The Malheur County Sheriff’s Office is working on the pot case with other agencies including the Harney County Sheriff’s Office, United States Bureau of Land Management, Oregon Army National Guard, the Oregon State Police and the High Desert Drug Task Force. Authorities will begin to eradicate the Malheur County pot gardens today, Bentz said. Authorities will cut, bundle and burn the plants. The Oregon Army National Guard “eradication flight” did not cover the entire county, Bentz confirmed Thursday, and the aircraft has left Malheur County.