08 Nov Tread Lightly! Impact Report: Smuggler’s Gulch Shooting Area and Devil’s Canyon Cleanup

Project: Smuggler’s Gulch Shooting Area and Devil’s Canyon Cleanup
Location: Smuggler’s Gulch Shooting Area, California

Description: On the windy morning of Saturday, October 15th, 2022, 18 Volunteers from the Tierra Del Sol 4×4 Club met with Tread Lightly! and personnel from the El Centro BLM Field office to make an impact and remove trigger trash from the Smuggler’s Gulch Shooting Area. This shooting area, situated on the San Diego/Imperial County line between the eastbound and westbound lanes of the 8 Freeway, sees plenty of recreational shooters from both counties.

After a brief meeting, half the group split off onto the extremely challenging Devil’s Canyon OHV trail to remove trash and debris while the other half focused on the shooting areas. Over the next four hours both groups were able to collectively fill a 40-yard dumpster with trigger trail trash. The trash included a big screen TV and grand piano from the shooting areas and 5 truck bed camper covers from the trail. In total, volunteers packed out 3.14 tons of trash from 2.5 total acres.

Thank you to the partners who made this possible:

• BLM El Centro Field Office
• Tierra Del Sol 4×4 Club
• SDORC
• SDMust

“As more and more visitors venture out onto their public lands, partnerships like the one we have between Tread Lightly! and the BLM El Centro Field Office become crucial to continue to provide quality recreation opportunities and experiences.  The outreach events that Brandon coordinates at Tread Lightly! are helping us to meet that challenging goal.  The partnership building, teamwork, and outdoor experiences are building important land use ethics that will last for generations, improving the desert landscape, and increasing visitor safety.”-Neil Hamada, Bureau of Land Management 

Want to get involved in your own Tread Lightly! project? Find upcoming activities, events and grant opportunities at treadlightly.org.