Earth Day At Tonto National Forest

The Tonto National Forest will mark Earth Day this Saturday, with a clean-up effort in the Four Peaks area & birdwatching tours on the Lower Salt River. More than 300 volunteers, mostly children aged between 12 & 18, are expected to help clean up several shooting pits in the Four Peaks area. The shooting pits, littered with shell casings, abandoned targets & other garbage, are among the most trashed areas on the Tonto, & forest officials predict approximately 15 tons of trash will be removed from these public lands on Earth Day. The Mesa Mountain View Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is spearheading this service project. On the Lower Salt River, the Tonto National Forest will team up with the Maricopa Audubon Society to provide FREE beginner “birdwalks” at the Coon Bluff & Granite Reef recreation areas from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Both areas have been designated by the National Audubon Society as part of an “Important Bird Area.”