Footprints Matter
Northern Pinal County Superstition Foothills Environmental Stewardship

 

Arizona State Trust Land: The rewarding success of minimal trash found in these areas was evident to returning Volunteers from the Peralta Hiking Club, local ranchers, local residents and winter residents of the Arizonian RV Park .  Trigger trash on past shooting sites on the ASTL has been eliminated for the most part, and trash is entirely gone from the Peralta area. Unfortunately, the new trash found this year was numerous household and landscaping debris dumping sites.  At the end of the day, 20.8 tons were removed from the desert in this area.

Tonto National Forest, Hewitt Station Road and the Whitlow Dam 
Our main focus in this area was on the major target shooting areas. For the safety of our volunteers there were a few sites that were unobtainable due to the abundance of rain. Amazingly, the volunteers worked hard and we restored more than a dozen massive trash sites. 

Special Thanks: We would also like to thank all of the organizations who helped make this cleanup a success: Arizona Trail Association, Arizona Game & Fish Department Mesa Region, Arizona State Land Department, Empire Cat, The Home Depot, Imerys, Pinal County Sheriff's Office, and the U.S. Forest Service - Tonto National Forest, Mesa Ranger District. Thank you to members of Tonto Recreation Alliance and the Gold Canyon Lions Club coming out and volunteering with us!

We would also like to thank Right Away Disposal, Republic Services, Weinberger Waste and Disposal, and J. Bowers and Associates for providing the dumpsters for the event. And thanks to Pinal County Public Works for the tire dumpster and tire recycling. 
      2010
Dec 17, 2014
166 Volunteers Made a Difference on Tonto National Forest and Arizona State Trust Land
NEVER DOUBT THAT A SMALL GROUP OF THOUGHTFUL COMMITTED CITIZENS 
CAN CHANGE THE WORLD, ​These words were brought to action today.  

For those of us who live in and love the desert, we welcomed the rain that came over the days prior to our event, for it means life in the desert will thrive. We were blessed that the rain stopped and even though it was cloudy, windy and cold (by Arizona standards), the volunteers who came worked hard and generated warmth by their smiles. 
SMILES, SUCCUSS and THANKS
Hard working couple, having buckets and stabbers worked well
This group cleaned up their initial site and willing went on to clean two other sites.
Judd Bowers, our support volunteer who shows up at each site with water, bags and a smile. We could not do without him.
Pinal County's New Sheriff. Thanks Mark Lamb for coming out, pitching in and sharing a smile with all of us. Good to have you on board!
Gary Hanna, Mesa District Ranger, Tonto National Forest! This smile says it all. We are proud to call you friend and continue to work with you to protect and restore the Tonto!
TRAL - This group of volunteers from Tonto Recreational Alliance has supported this cleanup for 4 years now, and they are an fun group. They are doing amazing things all over the Tonto, check them out.
Mike, we can not say enough good things about your dedication to our efforts. We will say it more than once, You rock, this is your 8th Cleanup and you still have a smile on your face.
This smiling group is from the Gold Canyon Lyons, They have helped with registration and check in for 8 years. That means an early rise and we appreciate it.
Lots of smiles here, Gary, Justin and Nicole join Charles Goff, president of S.A.L.T at one of our many sites.
Walking the trash to the dumpsters, Buckets are such a useful tool, Our thanks to Ace Hardware, Apache Junction and Home Depot, Mesa for the donation of all the buckets!
What a can one say about this beautiful smile. Beth, Tonto National Forest, Mesa Volunteer Coordinator.
Judd and his brother Roxie both had smiles on their face as the morning went on.
For more pictures and smiles CLICK HERE
Here's some of the ways we are making a difference:

Self Responsibility; Picking up after yourselves and utilizing the opportunity given by the 'trigger trash dumpster' (on Tonto National Forest Land)
Education;Knowing where you are and what the rules are.
Knowledge:  Signage that we have made possible on ASTL and TNF
Ownership: Taking responsibility when you recreate on the land and when you live by the land