01/19/19

10th Annual Environmental Stewardship Event

with Footprints Matter to Us

Queen Valley / Hewitt Station OHV Area

Natural Restorations teamed up with Footprints Matter to Us again for the 10th Annual Environmental Stewardship Event with Footprints Matter to Us at Hewitt Station OHV Area in Queen Valley on Saturday, January 19th, 2019.

184 volunteers came out to remove trash illegally dumped or left behind by people recreating in the area, including irresponsible target shooters.

We had two entirely different cleanup sites going at the same time. 144 volunteers worked on Tonto National Forest Land at Hewitt Station OHV Area to remove trash and a separate group of 40 volunteers worked on Arizona State Trust Land between Gold Canyon and Queen Valley to remove trash. 

Volunteers helped us remove 24.13 tons of trash, that’s 48,260 pounds of trash no longer littering outdoor recreation areas! 22.64 tons removed from Hewitt Station OHV Area and 1.49 tons removed from Arizona State Trust Land. Check out pictures from the event below, and check back soon for before & afters.

Thank you, Sue Schaffer from Footprints Matter to Us, for starting this cleanup 10 years ago! It has been wonderful working with Sue over the last 3 years on this event and we are honored to continue the yearly cleanup on the 3rd Saturday in January.

Thank you to everyone at Arizona State Land Department, Resolution Copper, and Right Away Disposal for donating dumpsters! Thank you to Robin from the Tonto National Forest and Sheriff Lamb keeping volunteers safe during the target shooting closure.

The cleanup project at Hewitt Station OHV Area in Queen Valley was financed in part by a grant from the Arizona Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Recreation Fund administered by Arizona State Parks & Trails.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ROBERT COONROD

Click on a picture for full-size image gallery. 

Trash removed from Arizona State Trust Land

Thank you to Red Bear Outfitters for donating lunch to volunteers and giving t-shirts to the youth volunteers! We greatly appreciate you helping us thank all of the volunteers for their hard work. 

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE AT LEBARON & CARROLL INSURANCE FOR DONATING A

40-QUART ORCA COOLER TO THE VOLUNTEER RAFFLE!

RAFFLE WINNERS! HUGE THANK YOU TO LEBARON & CARROLL INSURANCE, Knuckle Busters, & Tru Flask FOR DONATING ITEMS TO THE RAFFLE!

Additional pictures from Justin & Nicole Corey