FRESNO, Calif. -- Federal agents in California said they seized nearly 450,000 marijuana plants worth about $2 billion during a raid in two national forests.

Operation Trident included everything from eradication to staking out supply runners.

Fifty-five people have been arrested on federal drug charges, and officials said more arrests could be coming.

"This is not just a public lands issue," Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims said. "It's all of our community issue."

Agents eradicated 75 of 126 grow sites and seized plants worth an estimated $1.7 billion.

"They have volumes of garbage, all their pipes, propane tanks," Madera County Sheriff John Anderson said. "Everything's left there when they leave. This is our land."

Reclamation was a major focus of the operation. For every acre of marijuana grown, about 10 acres of habitat suffer as a result, Department of Fish and Game officials said.

Wildlife is destroyed, and fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals get mixed into the water that supplies the Central Valley.

Officials said it could take years for these areas to replenish themselves.

"We as county sheriffs in the San Joaquin Valley are prepared to lead the charge to prevent drub cartels from coming into our county and taking over our public lands," Tulare County Sheriff Bill Wittman said.