Hunters pursuing feral hogs at Cooper Wildlife Management Area in Sulphur Springs stumbled upon a marijuana growing encampment earlier this month.
The area had more than 6,500 matured plants with an estimated street value of more than $6 million.
Hunters alerted Texas game wardens, who in turn led a multi-agency investigation of the site tucked away in a swampy area of the 14,480-acre wildlife management area.
Wardens found a campsite with tents, farming tools, fertilizer, a generator and water pump irrigation equipment indicating the operation had been ongoing for some time.
“This was not someone playing around and experimenting,” Texas Game Warden Captain Steve Stapleton said.
Game wardens covered the area from the air and on ground with the help of Delta and Hopkins County Sheriff’s Offices, Texas Department of Criminal Justice tracking dogs and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers.
There were no arrests. Officials destroyed all the marijuana on site and seized the property and equipment. Read more in the weekend Bowie News.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. (Logo provided by the TPWD, used with permission)