50 Yards of Trash in 3 Hours

November 21, 2021

With some spur of the moment planning, RAD teamed up with the Hills Angels 4X4 Club and the BLM to knock out a new trouble spot at a riding area in Sun Valley off of Klondike Drive before it got out of control.

After the major cleanup of the OHV area off Chimney Drive in Sun Valley back in May, in which approximately 150 volunteers cleared out over 280 yards of illegally dumped trash, the area has remained largely clear of residential and commercial waste ever since. Our rockstar BLM Ranger who aggressively patrols, investigates and issues citations to dumpers explains that the visual presence of dumped garbage and junk vehicles acts like a magnet that perpetuates even more dumping.  The existence of blight supports the rationale of certain people who justify their actions of dumping in the desert with "everyone else dumps here, so I don't see the problem with me doing it."

So we wanted to nip this spot in the bud quickly before the litter began to snowball.

We asked our RAD riders to come help us out on pretty short notice and the eager spirit of our volunteers never ceases to amaze us.  Consistently, we always get a motivated crowd of people who know how to GET IT DONE.  Several more volunteers from the Hills Angels were there with their 4x4s (the muscle to drag out the junk cars). And also remarkably, multiple BLM employees where there with us on their personal time -- just to help us out and show their support.

A grant from the Nevada Off-Highway Vehicles Program for our RAD Communities Project funds all of our good quality cleanup tools, the PPE and consumables for our volunteers to use, the RAD trailer that stores and carries them, and our tents and flags that act as our beacon.

Props to the Hills Angels 4X4 Club for producing this video:

A-Team Trash Hauling LLC is a local Reno business that was excited to support the RAD movement and donated the 30-yard dumpster for today's job.  Aaron from A-Team came out prior to the cleanup to scout the spot with us.  Then on his day off, he delivered the dumpster in the morning and picked it up as soon as we were done.

John Vaughn is another major needle mover.  Today he brought his handy bobcat and a 20-yard dump trailer which he hauled away - completely full.  These kinds of resources are game changers for our cleanups and we couldn't be more grateful.

We are noticing a pattern at every cleanup we do.  Inevitably, there's always a few locals from the neighborhood who walk up to see what's going on, and they pick up some gloves and start helping us.  And then there is always at least one person who says to one of us, "I always hated dirtbike riders up here. I had no idea this is what you guys do and I feel differently about dirtbike riders now. Thank you so much!"  

These are the little victories... which are actually the big victories.  

The net positives of RAD's cleanups keep compounding.  We get recreation areas cleaned up quickly, and they tend to stay that way.  We are doing the work to bring the changes we want to see. We win over the hearts of local residents living near our riding areas. We build a good rapport with the land managers and law enforcement, who in turn want to engage with us and support our endeavors.  We attract partnerships from the best local businesses who want to help us out.  We are setting an example of good land stewardship and inspiring others to get involved.  We are well regarded by the Nevada Off-Highway Vehicles Program.  And we are creating a reputation for the Reno, Nevada dirtbike community and shifting public perception in our favor.

This is #theRADmovement

We are so proud and thankful for each and every one of our volunteers -- everyone from RAD, the Hills Angels, the BLM and the local neighborhood.  Today's team made 50 yards of trash and about 60 tires disappear from our desert on a sunny Sunday morning by lunchtime.  Together we've made one more little corner of our community healthier, and smiled at the end of the day as we watched a few dirt bikes ride by.