Do you remember the post of the couple who were stealing Dudleyas at Garrapata State Beach which included a photo of the couple? Jade is the person who saw something weird, stopped, spoke with them, took the photos and then contacted law enforcement. Good job, Jade! They were tracked down by Fish & Game to Palmdale and arrested and sentenced in Salinas yesterday.
From the Salinas Californian – “No other plant is more popular than succulents — for the moment.
A Los Angeles area couple took advantage of that when they nabbed 600 of them.
The Southern California duo pleaded no contest to charges that they stole around 600 succulents from a Monterey County park. The plant is unique to the California coast and is prized in Asia.
Guanrong Rivera, of Palmdale, entered her plea to felony theft and vandalism charges Thursday in Monterey County Superior Court.
Her husband, Jose Luis Rivera, pleaded no contest earlier this month to misdemeanor destruction of succulents.
“I think this is the first of its kind in Monterey County,” said Justin Lee, deputy district attorney for Monterey County.” For the rest of the article, see here:
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Not good to print Jade's last name, because of possible future retribution.
I know this from experience.
Good idea, I will edit. OTOH, Jade published it herself all over FB before she sent it to me. Us Big Sur Ladies are hard to track down. But I will take your advise.
Love the work you give us on Big Sur related concerns. Keep up the great work.
Thank you, James. Most of the “work” is done by other, like Jade who sent me the original story w pics and then did the follow-up on the sentencing. That being said, it is an honor to be such a conduit for valuable information.
Glad that justice is served for once!
That’s a good win!!!
I really dont get stealing succulents from parks, especially dudleyas. You can literally get cuttings from my yard and propagate them for free, they grow like weeds. Why destroy our natural areas?
Report succulent and native plant thieves by calling 888 334 2258, or text to tip411 847411
PV School had 2 carloads of Asians pull into its parking lot looking for a bathroom (maybe if Parks Mgmt put up a small bathroom sign at the hwy of Mill & Willow Creeks we wouldn't get this on a regular basis! ) and while wandering our parking lot they were enthralled with our succulent gardens. Out came the cell phones and the required picture taking and excited chatter. Luckily it was just picture taking!
You are lucky. But you also don’t have 600 plants to make it worth their while.
https://bigsurkate.blog Do not forward, please
My understanding is that USFS won't allow PM to post signs for rest rooms. Rest rooms were installed when fewer tourists visited Big Sur. They couldn't handle the volume of cr@**# or abuse from the current hordes.
it is on the maps available on line, in any event.
https://bigsurkate.blog Do not forward, please
Maps online don't help the traveler on Hwy 1 with little to none cell reception. And I believe when the flush toilets were replaced by the pit toilets, the throngs had already invaded. Truly a lack of foresight, but probably more to do with budgets!
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