Illegal marijuana production has fallen drastically in recent years in Washington State, although law enforcement says public lands here remain a hotbed for cartel activity.

The number of plants seized in Washington state in 2014 was 57,000 — about 80 percent less than what was seized in 2010, according to a new report from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

Over that same period, the amount of processed marijuana seized dropped from 3,126 pounds of product to 635 pounds, less than a quarter of what agencies had found five years ago.

The report does not break down seizures by individual counties. But total statewide seizures of plants are a fraction of what law enforcement was pulling out of Yakima County alone a decade ago.

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Mike Faulk ~ Yakima Herald-Republic ~