Are there any efforts to check the Illegal pot farming by local authorities...

I would certainly hope so! The US tend to invest a lot of resources in stopping the drug industry, so I'm sure these are being actively looked for by both the police and the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration).

May be I can make a trip there in summer as it is only 300 miles away.

You should do that! I visited an old-growth forest here in Norway just last year (called Trillemarka Naturreservat), and it was a very nice trip. I saw many species that I had never seen before!