State Land Department Conservation Effort

Help Protect the Trust from Trash!

Cleaning up illegal dump sites is part of the Land Department’s Conservation Efforts.  A small fund is dedicated to assisting volunteers in clean-ups of Trust Land.  We arrange to have a roll-off container on-site and pay for the disposal costs.

	Students in Mr. Shapiro’s 7th grade class at Sonoran Trails Middle School (faces hidden to protect privacy) filled two roll-off dumpsters with trash collected from Trust Land that surrounds their school

In Fiscal Year 2008, the Land Department documented 41 volunteer clean-ups.  These efforts resulted in over 227 tons of trash being removed.  Sixteen abandoned vehicles were towed off and 308 tires removed. 

Volunteers come from all walks of life: Boy Scouts earning merit badges, adult probationers working off their community service time, prison inmates, civic groups and school children.  City, County and Federal government agencies also provide support as do other state agencies.

For example, K.C. Custer, Environmental Investigator for Pima County Department of Environmental Quality, works with the Pima County Adult Probation Department to hold monthly clean-ups of Trust and Public lands, in addition to his work apprehending responsible individuals.  To learn more about their program, click here.

The Stewards of Public Lands (www.verdestewards.org/index.html) have been actively involved in cleaning up illegal dumpsites and shooting ranges in the Verde Valley for several years.   Some of their events include Trust Land.

The Arizona State Land Department thanks all of the volunteers that help clean up and report illegal dumping. We can use more help. 

If you see illegal dumping, call the police or the environmental services division of your local government agency immediately. Larger sites may require hundreds of thousands of dollars to remediate.

If it is safe to do so, get as much information as you can to assist in the investigation (vehicle description, license plate, etc).

If you have a group that would like to help clean-up Trust Land, call 602-542-2695. Funding is limited, but we will help to the fullest extent possible.