Saguaro Lake & Lower SAlt River Trash & Graffiti Removal Project

16,204+ pounds (8.1o tons) of trash, 674 square feet of graffiti, & 7 tires removed

Funded by Yamaha outdoor access initiative

We are the proud recipient of a grant from Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative! With grant funds, our military veteran-based Dedicated Restoration Team made a significant impact on the Tonto National Forest & Arizona State Trust Land by removing 6,084.76 pounds (3.04 tons) of trash, 674 sq ft of graffiti, & 1 tire. Volunteers also helped us remove 10,120 pounds (5.06 Tons) & 6 tires at the 17th annual Hewitt Station Cleanup.

removing Pallet NAILS from ohv stating areas & the trails

Imagine spending your hard earned money on a set of tires so that you can enjoy Arizona’s off-road trails. You barely hit the dirt road & drive through thousands of nails left from pallet fire burns. Now you have 4 tires full of nails! Sounds like a terrible way to start your off-road adventure & a big hit to your bank account, even with road hazard on your tires!⁠ We don’t want that experience for any trail rider!

All of the nails were removed from areas people drive through because there are no trails or staging areas where starting fires allowed. Just because someone else does it, doesn’t make it right or legal! Know how to recreate responsibly before heading out on the trails!

Above is one of the staging areas at Sugar Loaf OHV Area, the whole point of a staging area is so that members of the off-roading community have a designated place park their trucks & trailers, unload their off-road vehicles, & enjoy the trails. The last thing they want is to drive through thousands of nails from illegal pallet fires & get stranded in the desert with flat tires & the costs associated with flat tires.

We removed tens of thousands of nails from the trails & OHV staging areas during this project! It is illegal to burn pallets on national forest land & no one should be burning fires in OHV staging areas or on the trails, even if someone else did it before you, it doesn’t make it right or legal.

For a short amount of time, drivers may be able to avoid nails in their tires by avoiding spots that look burned, but over time, dirt settles over everything making it challenging to see nails when trail riding.

Sugar Loaf GRAFFITI REMOVAL - 46 SQ FT OF GRAFFITI REMOVED

Florence Boulders Graffiti Removal - 252 Sq Ft of Graffiti Removed

For this project graffiti removal project on AZ State Trust Land, we combined grant funds from Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative & REI Cooperative Action Fund.

Four peaks Graffiti Removal - 376 Sq Ft of Graffiti Removed

Our hope is that by removing the graffiti, fewer people will make the mistake of thinking it is okay to tag the rocks and boulders. We believe everyone should be able to experience nature without graffiti.

Contact the non-emergency # for the area if you see anyone vandalizing public lands & contact us if you see graffiti in outdoor recreation & wilderness areas. We never paint over graffiti, we always remove it!

trash removal: 6,084.76 pounds (3.04 Tons) of trash removed from Four peaks, Sugar Loaf, the rolls, mesquite wash, & bulldog canyon. includes more than 617 pounds of nails from staging areas & trails.

01/17/26 Event

17th annual Footprints Matter To Us Cleanup at Hewitt Station with Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative. Click HERE to view event photos.

64 volunteers helped us remove 10,120 pounds (5.06 tons) of trash & 6 tires from Hewitt Station OHV Area. Volunteers donated 212.12 hours of time to this project!

More nail removal from trails & staging areas

Thank you to everyone at Yamaha Outdoor Access Initiative for their support of our mission & these restoration projects!

We proudly use Graffiti Removal Products and the EcoBlaster Portable Pressure Washer & Water Source from World's Best Graffiti Removers. You can check out our other graffiti removal projects HERE.