The Marin County’s Sheriff’s Office eradicated 500 marijuana plants last Wednesday on private property near Nicasio Valley Road after contractors notified the homeowner of the grow operation, according to Lieutenant Doug Pittman. The removal effort followed two other discoveries the week before, involving 1,600 plants near Walker Creek and another 600 off of Lucas Valley Road. Many plants in all three instances had already been harvested in anticipation of the deer-hunting season. “Every year when deer season opens, it’s pretty much expected that we get calls from property owners and deer hunters,” Pittman said. The elimination effort involved CHP helicopters and was funded by the Drug Enforcement Agency. Officials with the Sheriff’s Office suspect the incidents are related to a much larger network of Mexican organized crime across Northern California.