by Matt Konkle
Managing Editor
NELLIS AFB, NV — The dark, contoured fighter jet streaked up from the Nevada desert, banked once and disappeared from sight in almost the time it took to take a few breaths and admire the whole scene. In its wake, four more repeated the process, rippling symphonies of engine noise across the sand and rocks that lasted long after each plane had disappeared.
And while the noise finally evaporated, there was plenty of trash remaining throughout the area just northeast of the air force base. Which was why we were out with plenty of help to do some good in the desert Monday morning.
No, the first day of Specialty Equipment Market Association week wasn’t spent inside a building or roaming the Las Vegas Convention Center parking lot doing some Jeep watching. All that will come later in the week.
Instead, we hit I-15 north out of Las Vegas, blinked a few times as the city itself melted away and became mostly empty desert, and then rolled on for another 30 minutes to the heavily trafficked Nellis Dunes Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area.
The dunes stretch out from nearly right against I-15 and deep into the desert, offering plenty of ledges, climbs, rocky surfaces and all kinds of sand. Unfortunately, they also offer plenty of room for people to jump off the highway with bags and bags of trash.
So about 30 volunteers pulled up to Nellis Monday morning to do their part and pull out trash during Quadratec’s Nevada portion of its ’50-for-50’ Trail Clean-up Initiative in partnership with Tread Lightly!.
”Contractors, homeowners, businesses, they all come here it seems, and dump their trash because it is easy and convenient,” said Matt Caldwell, Tread Lightly’s! Executive Director. “We’re all out here today to make a difference and hopefully our actions will inspire others to do the same thing in their areas.”
Tread Lightly! secured a huge trash dumpster from Republic Waste and it wasn’t long before volunteers sprung into action — many of whom were in town preparing for the SEMA Show, but gave up their time on a busy Monday morning to assist a worthy cause.
Some were influencers/social media personalities/industry professionals like Hollie Fowler of MischiefMakerTV and RoveandReverie’s Tara McGovern, others were traditional media like former Petersen's 4-Wheel and Offroad Magazine Editor-in-Chief and Gone Gpn’s Rick Pewe, and Bryon Dorr with Tread magazine. Off-road racers Nicole Johnson and Sara Price pitched in as well.
"My favorite part of doing these Tread Lightly! projects is seeing the variety of people from all walks of this industry and community that show up in force to support and work together even during busy event weeks like this one,” McGovern said. “It is such an equalizer and unifier in a way that is really special and so very needed in the off-road world right now. It builds community and friendships in such a meaningful way. I mean, if I could spend every Monday getting to wheel a Jeep and cleaning up trash with a group of people who love this land and the way we get to use it as much as I do, I would be perfectly fine with that."
Some volunteers stayed right at the trailhead and fanned out into the desert where trash was plentiful. Others, including Pewe and McGovern joined up with Las Vegas Rock Crawlers’ Tim Conway and drove out deeper into the recreation area in a fleet of pristine Jeep Scramblers.
It wasn’t long before bag after bag of discarded stuff like bottles, broken lawn equipment, automotive parts, tires, worn-out construction parts and all kinds of other trash were dragged to the dumpster and tossed inside. A lot of that stuff was buried as well, thanks to recent rains that washed through the area.
So the normal scoop up and carry away method didn’t quite work Monday at Nellis. Instead, tow straps were hooked up and much of those discarded items were yanked from the earth and driven to the huge dumpster. Bags and bags quickly filled up and by day's end, that dumpster was nearly full.
”If you look around the country, our ability to go out and enjoy the sport we love is under attack,” said Quadratec Director of Content Eric Ammerman. “So all of us really need to do our part, lead by example and make sure we not only clean up after ourselves during a day on the trail, but pick up whatever other trash you see as well.
”Hopefully, these kind of efforts will inspire others out there to pitch in and help as well.”
Quadratec’s ’50-for-50’ stewardship grant fund helps project managers pay for equipment, fees, volunteer support, food, fuel, signage and other miscellaneous costs.
Quadratec has been a supporting partner of Tread Lightly! for more than 20 years, and a longtime fundraiser for Tread Lightly!’s stewardship programs. The company has also promoted Tread Lightly! and other trail restoration efforts through its Quadratec Cares ‘Energize the Environment’ program.
Clubs and individuals are required to be active, supporting members of Tread Lightly! to be eligible to apply for ’50-for-50’ grant funding. To learn more about the Quadratec ’50-for-50 program, visit Quadratec's 50 for 50 Trails Stewardship Grant Initiative.
Related Articles:
Quadratec, Tread Lightly ’50-for-50’ Trail Cleanup — Coal Township, Pennsylvania
Quadratec, Tread Lightly! ’50-For-50’ Public Land Cleanup — Lansing, West Virginia
Quadratec, Tread Lightly! ’50-For-50' Cleanup — Brooksville, Florida
