COLUMBUS JUNCTION (AP) - Officials in southeast Iowa say hikers have found a patch of marijuana that contained more than 200 pot plants, some as high as 6 feet tall.

The Louisa County sheriff's office say the hikers were walking in a county recreation area near Columbus Junction when they found the marijuana. They notified the sheriff's office on Monday and deputies and officers from the Columbus Junction police department seized the plants.

Officials say the plants had been started in pots and transplanted to the site after trees had been cleared and work was done to open the area to sunlight and to hide the area.

The estimated street value of the marijuana is $50,000.