Volunteers clean illegal dumping near Yuma on BLM land

Illegal dumping near Adair Shooting Range off Highway 95 pulled county crews, BLM staff, Scouts and volunteers onto public land west of Yuma after a complaint flagged the site. The cleanup targeted a heavily impacted stretch of Bureau of Land Management land where trash, appliances and other waste had piled up, adding pressure on desert access and local budgets.

The Desert Strong Yuma Clean effort took place June 8, 2026, after Yuma County Public Works received the complaint and worked with the BLM Yuma Field Office to identify and authorize a safe cleanup location. The effort brought together Yuma County Public Works, Yuma County Development Services, Yuma County Administration, the Yuma County Sheriff's Office, the BLM, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, local businesses, community volunteers and Scouts of America youth participants. BLM Park Ranger Ben Florey attended as the agency representative, while Yuma Field Manager Ray Castro said the work showed what public agencies, businesses and volunteers can do when they coordinate around a shared problem.

Support for the effort came from several local businesses. CR&R supplied a 40-yard trash bin, portable restrooms, donuts and custom event shirts. Aqua 2000 provided water, sports drinks and ice, and Priority Sampling supplied gloves and cooling towels so volunteers could work in the desert heat. The BLM said the site was chosen because it was accessible and suitable for youth volunteers, a practical detail in an area where summer temperatures can quickly turn cleanup work into a safety issue.

The cleanup also highlighted the scale of what the Yuma Field Office is trying to protect. The office manages 1.2 million acres in southwestern Arizona and southeastern California, including 155 miles of the lower Colorado River, four wilderness areas, the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, three Areas of Critical Environmental Concern and five properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places. BLM says illegal dumping can worsen when sites become shooting areas or scavenging spots, and it can encourage more dumping in the same place.

Arizona regulators say illegal dumping can be prosecuted as either a felony or misdemeanor. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality says it can damage wildlife habitat, contaminate water and soil, hurt property values and erode the tax base, leaving local governments to absorb cleanup costs. Yuma County tightened transfer-site rules in July 2025 to limit load size and visit frequency, part of a broader push to keep desert land from becoming a repeat dump site.