Several insist on damaging the sand dune near the city of Bani in Peravia province. The sparse vegetation is being destroyed and while some are saying that the idea is to grow crops, the real reason is to extract sand for construction projects. According to Hoy, the majority of the illegal extraction is done on the weekends when there is little supervision of the area. Hundreds of species of trees and brush have been slashed and burned to get at the sand in the Las Calderas Natural Reserve. Reporters from Hoy joined Environmental Ministry employees and Environmental Police in an operation that netted two farmers who were trying to plant cassava in the area. Both men were arrested and placed in the custody of park rangers. The reporters were able to observe a great many “craters” created by the sand diggers. Park officials told the reporters that the excuse of using the land to grow crops is a joke, since the land cannot support agriculture. The sand dunes in Las Calderas are unique in the Dominican Republic, and cover an area of nearly 50 square kilometers.