Hundreds of volunteers gathered along the banks of the Salt River on Saturday to celebrate National Public Lands Day by removing trash and invasive species.
Volunteers gathered at the Phon D. Sutton recreation area along the Salt River in the Tonto National Forest for a clean up event celebrating National Public Lands Day.
National Public Lands Day is recognized every fourth Saturday of September as a one-day volunteer event to beautify parks and public spaces.
The event on the lower Salt River near Mesa was one of over 700 nationwide, according to organizers with volunteer group Natural Restorations, who has hosted the cleanup event on the riverbanks along with the U.S. Forest Service for more than a decade.
Nicole Corey is the executive director of Natural Restorations. She says tiny pieces of trash can have a big impact.
“One of the Salt River wild horses died in 2022 choking on plastic debris,” Corey said. “So even the smallest amount matters. I'm sure we'll probably have over 1,000 pounds of trash and invasive plants removed by the end of the day.”
Corey said turnout was “fabulous,” with volunteers coming from a variety of companies, schools, churches and recreation groups.
She said events like this help people understand the responsibilities that come with public lands.
“This is how people get to build the connection with nature and understand what it takes to preserve it,” Corey said. “And so, by bringing people out here today to see what they can do to help preserve our public lands and keep access to them, I think it's really important to show that to the public that we do have to maintain them and treat them with respect if we want them to be here for future generations.”
Volunteer Kendra Smith said this was her first time attending a cleanup event.
“I feel like we're on this big, beautiful Earth, so why not respect it and give it back so that we have it for more generations,” Smith said.
Smith said she always remembers to leave no trace.
“We need to respect our land, and I feel like if we use it, we might as well give it respect and pick up little things here and there, like … kind of little side tangent, but every time I go hiking, I always pick up anything that I see,” Smith said.
Smith said she found and removed all sorts of trash along the riverbank, like candy wrappers, cigarette butts and a folding chair.
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On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a measure out of its upper chamber that would transform the Chiricahua National Monument into the Grand Canyon State’s newest national park. -
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