BLM California News.bytes 
News.bytes Extra, issue 554

Desert cleanup - Route 768

Route 768 in the BLM's California Desert District included a pit that was full of household trash, tin cans, automotive parts, and an old car that was cut into several pieces. A crew worked to remove the trash and car parts, which were loaded into trucks and taken to the landfill. 

In 2012, the BLM’s California Desert District (CDD) received directed one-time funds for the Border Initiative in the 1640 Hazard Management and Resource Restoration (Hazmat) Fund. The funds have increased CDD’s capability to clean up illegal dump sites south of Interstate 10 to the Mexico Border.

To maximize the efficiency of the funds we joined forces with the USFS Force Account / Abandoned Mine Lands crew from Tahoe.  The crew superintendent, Mary Rosellen, brings a self-sufficient workforce equipped with light and heavy duty equipment. Rosellen’s crew has tackled some of CDD’s worst dump sites.  In 2012, approximately 50 tons of solid waste was removed from public lands in the South Coast and El Centro resource areas.  We plan to continue the operation well into 2013 and beyond.

Some photos from the cleanup effort:

trash dumped in the desert 
trash in the desert
junk in the desert
the pit is getting cleaned up

workers near an almost-full truckload of junk
a man with a large shovel finishes cleaning up in a pit

- Sterling White, BLM California Desert District Abandoned Mine Lands and Hazmat Program Lead (October 2012)

BLM California News.bytes, issue 554 -- To subscribe to News.bytes, send an e-mail to: mailto:Join-Newsbytes@List.ca.blm.gov OR visit our News.bytes subscription page.