GIANT SEQUOIA NATIONAL MONUMENT — Authorities discovered 3,655 marijuana plants this week within Giant Sequoia National Monument and destroyed them.

The operation occurred at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Tulare County sheriff’s detectives participated in the operation, with the assistance of the U.S. Forest Service.

The marijuana was being grown within the Giant Sequoia National Monument above Springville.

Allowed to mature, authorities estimate street value of the plants would have been about $4.65 million.