Adopt a Highway: Recognizing 'All the Way to the Border' volunteers
Adopt a Highway: Recognizing 'All the Way to the Border' volunteers
Adopt a Highway: Recognizing 'All the Way to the Border' volunteers
Adopt a Highway: Recognizing 'All the Way to the Border' volunteers

A cheering crowd surrounded Melissa Owen during a safety briefing that preceded a cleanup of all 45 miles of State Route 286 between SR 86 and Sasabe Along with this ADOT representative, they celebrated Owen’s 10 years of organizing the annual “All the Way to the Border” litter pickup.
Participants signed in at Altar Valley Middle School on Saturday, Jan. 25, then picked up trash bags and headed for their assigned stretches of this scenic state highway. You can view the event photos and see the people who are inspired to help us keep Arizona grand in the ADOT Flickr album linked here. It’s my pleasure to introduce some of those featured in these photos.
Altar Valley Conservation Alliance representative Julia Guglielmo helped others find adopted areas on a special map drawn to highlight adopted and available segments along the entire 45 miles.
Julia said, “Our mission is to preserve the Altar Valley for future generations, and that’s exactly what this event does. It helps the community to stay clean and safe, keeps our highways scenic so people can focus on the amazing wonders of the Altar Valley without being distracted by trash.
I met up with Altar Valley Middle School Math Teacher Katie Nicholas cleaning along with a group of honors students across from the school. Katie told me this was the first of two cleanups scheduled this year on their adopted section. “I drive this highway every day to work. It is so important to keep this community clean and healthy and we’re teaching our kids to do the same,” Katie said.
A few miles down the road I met Jeff White visiting from Oro Valley. “We want to give back to the community,” Jeff said, about volunteering in the Keep Oro Valley Beautiful Program and participating at mile 42 for “All the Way to the Border.”
The event drew 103 participants who filled 197 large trash bags. That’s about 2,700 pounds of debris. An ADOT maintenance crew gathered and disposed of a truckload of larger trash. ADOT thanks Melissa Owen of Rancho Sierra Vista de Sasabe/ Pozo Verde Wildlife Preserve for leadership and volunteer service. Thank you to all of the supporters, including Altar Valley Middle School, Altar Valley Conservation Alliance, Trico Electric Cooperative and Texas-based Park Smith Law.
If you’d like to learn more about adopting a highway, please visit azdot.gov/adoptahighway.