War in the Woods |
Combating the Marijuana Cartels on America's Public Lands
By John Nores, Jr. and Dr. James Swan In 2010, Lt. Nores and his co-author, Dr. James Swan, collaborated on a non-fiction book, “War in the Woods: Combating the Marijuana Cartels on America’s Public Lands”. The story highlights the dangerous special operations missions conducted by the allied agency Marijuana Eradication Team (MET) between 2004 and 2009. The story tells of the Team’s battles to save the environment from the damage caused through the cartels' illegal and damaging marijuana cultivation operations in the hills and open spaces throughout California |
Critical Acclaim for War in the Woods
“As the former director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, I am well aware that drug trafficking organizations are using America’s public lands to cultivate marijuana and are protecting their drug crops with dangerous booby traps. Brave law enforcement officers across the nation are confronting these traffickers, often at enormous personal risk. In War in the Woods, Lt. John Nores, Jr. and James Swan describe in riveting detail the perils involved in eradicating marijuana in California. This is a compelling read that illuminates the dark side of criminal marijuana cultivation.”
—General Barry McCaffrey, ret., former Director of the Office of National Drug Control
Policy under President Bill Clinton
“A terrifying, fascinating book. Not only is it a heart-racing, adrenaline-pumping page-turner, but it will leave you trembling with rage at how your land and your water and your resources are being stolen and despoiled by drug dealers who are perfectly willing
to take your life too, if you go into the woods. Kudos to the extraordinarily courageous game wardens for their work...”
—Jameson Parker, Writer and Actor
(Simon and Simon
—General Barry McCaffrey, ret., former Director of the Office of National Drug Control
Policy under President Bill Clinton
“A terrifying, fascinating book. Not only is it a heart-racing, adrenaline-pumping page-turner, but it will leave you trembling with rage at how your land and your water and your resources are being stolen and despoiled by drug dealers who are perfectly willing
to take your life too, if you go into the woods. Kudos to the extraordinarily courageous game wardens for their work...”
—Jameson Parker, Writer and Actor
(Simon and Simon
“In nearly four decades of covering breaking news around the world, I’ve seen my share of hard men preparing to go into harm’s way. My blood started pumping when I began reading War in the Woods. The descriptions of tactical squads suiting up and checking the gear of their brother officers is the kind of action that prefaces mortal combat. The realization that these men were preparing for combat with invaders of our national forests, sometimes only a few hundred yards from unsuspecting Americans going about their daily lives, made my blood run cold.
For three days in 480 B.C., 300 Spartans held off the entire Persian army at Thermopylae and became history’s most-cited example of the advantages of training, equipment and knowledge of the terrain to become a symbol of courage against overwhelming odds. Today, only 200 California Fish and Game Wardens are fighting to protect America’s public lands from drug dealers looking for their share of the estimated $38.5 billion dollar marijuana business. Today, they’re California’s Spartans, and War in the Woods tells their story—in their words.”
—Jim Shepherd, editor/publisher, The Outdoor Wire
For three days in 480 B.C., 300 Spartans held off the entire Persian army at Thermopylae and became history’s most-cited example of the advantages of training, equipment and knowledge of the terrain to become a symbol of courage against overwhelming odds. Today, only 200 California Fish and Game Wardens are fighting to protect America’s public lands from drug dealers looking for their share of the estimated $38.5 billion dollar marijuana business. Today, they’re California’s Spartans, and War in the Woods tells their story—in their words.”
—Jim Shepherd, editor/publisher, The Outdoor Wire