AUSTIN -- Cactus rustlers beware. Texas lawmakers are mobilizing a crackdown on the mass harvesting of the prickly plants from state parks and neighborhoods, many of which are destined for sale in Arizona and California.

Dry Western states have seen an increase in water restrictions and the demand for home xeriscaping, landscaping that requires little water.

Arizona has passed tough laws to regulate the trade of desert plants, making the West Texas deserts a prime area of illegal harvesting of desert plants.

So-called “cactus rustlers” snatch the cacti and other succulent plants from public lands or from private land without permission.

Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, the El Paso Democrat sponsoring the bill passed by the Senate on Friday to regulate the sale and shipping of the plants, showed reporters photographs of large truck convoys loaded with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of cacti that can sell for up to $250 each.

Cactus poachers often work at night, using hundreds of workers at a time, Shapleigh said Friday.

“Whole sections of the Chihuahua Desert are being stripped of these plants,” Shapleigh said.

Texas lawmakers tried to regulate cactus harvesting in 2003 when they passed a bill that was later vetoed by Gov. Rick Perry. The governor’s veto message said it would create a barricade to xeriscaping at a time when the government should be promoting ways to conserve water.

According to a Senate analysis, almost 100,000 desert plants worth up about $3 million were shipped from Texas to Arizona from 1998-2001, including plants harvested in Texas and illegal imports from Mexico.

Environmentalists worry that efforts to satisfy huge demand for the plants may soon damage the desert landscape.

“The bottom line is that a number of cactus species are in danger of becoming endangered or threatened,” said Ken Kramer, director of the Lone Star chapter of the Sierra Club.

Kramer said the homeowners and businesses seeking the desert plants for their lawns and gardens may have no idea the plants are being poached.

Under Shapleigh’s bill, anyone growing or harvesting desert plans for sale to register with the state and include written permission if they would be taking the plants from someone else’s property.

Plants for sale would have to be tagged and the state would be allowed to seize a plant or large shipment not properly marked for sale and transport out of state.

Violations could bring fines of up to $1,000 and up to 180 days in jail.

The bill now goes to the House for consideration.