United Desert Gateway will hold their 13th Annual Imperial Sand Dunes Cleanup on Saturday , January 16 , 2010.

The cleanup is held each year over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend and is attended by over 3,000 volunteers. The event keeps our local dunes clean and open and is always a family affair. Registration sites will be set up in both the north and south Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area.

The northend registration area includes Glamis Flats , Wash Road ( Wash 4) , Gecko Road across from the Ranger Station and Oldsmobile Hill.

South dunes registration areas include Gordon's Well , Buttercup , Ogilby Camp and Midway.

To participate , show up at one of the designated registration sites beginning at 8:00 a.m. The first 3,000 volunteers to register will receive a free event t-shirt. Volunteers will scour the desert for litter from 8:00 a.m. untill 11:30 a.m.

Full trash bags will be exchanged for drawing tickets . Lunch will be served in the main staging areas from 11:30 a.m. untill 12:30 p.m. and the prize drawings will be held after lunch.

Questions about the event may be directed to Charla Teeters , United Deseert Gateway Program Manager , 760 - 337 - 4155.

About the United Desert Gateway

The United Desert Gateway, a nonprofit public benefit corporation comprised of the Brawley, El Centro Yuma Chambers of Commerce, works hand-in-hand, through an Assistance Agreement, with the Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, California Desert District (BLM) and other partners to enhance the recreational experience at the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (ISDRA) and other BLM managed lands in the area.

The successful ongoing management of the ISDRA and other desert recreation areas is in part dependent on developing and fostering partnerships with the local communities, businesses, sand sport enthusiasts, and other desert visitors. These partnerships will allow BLM to reduce operating costs by fostering volunteer programs, financial support, and development, coordination and implementation of public educational materials and programs which help the BLM meet its goals and objectives for management of the ISDRA and other BLM managed lands in Imperial County.

Since its inception in September of 2004, the UDG has identified and implemented several “Partners in Stewardship” projects that have provided volunteer and economic resources in the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. To date, the UDG has contributed over $1,000,000 worth of contributions to promote safety and litter education in the ISDRA. Some of these projects include a highway billboard safety message program, Leo the Lizard litter education program, outreach team trucks and the Annual Martin Luther King holiday ISDRA cleanup.

www.uniteddesertgateway.org

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Polaris Ranger used in Botched Attempt to Smuggle Drugs

Monday, December 22, 2008
Yuma, Ariz. - Yuma Sector agents arrested drug smugglers posing as off-road enthusiasts, Sunday afternoon.About 3 p.m., Border Patrol agents patrolling the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area noticed two individuals on the Mexican side of the international boundary fence scouting out the immediate area. Later agents observed a Polaris Ranger off-road vehicle, on the U.S. side of the fence, drive to meet up with the two scouts. The scouts threw four bundles of marijuana over the fence to the driver of the vehicle; the driver placed the bundles into the back of the Polaris Ranger.

Agents maintained constant surveillance of the vehicle as it drove north to the Midway Campground and stopped at a motor home parked at the campsite. The driver exited the vehicle, entered the motor home briefly, then exited and resumed driving the Polaris Ranger – at this point Border Patrol agents stopped the driver, arrested him and seized the marijuana.
Border Patrol agents and a detection K-9 searched the motor home for other illicit narcotics but were unable to locate any. Agents discovered a male and female occupant with extensive criminal history involving narcotics in the motor home; Jonathan Berry and Jeannine Landreneaux. Landreneaux’s records checks also revealed an active warrant for her arrest for narcotics originating from California.The driver of the vehicle, Russell Carter, also had extensive criminal history involving narcotics.The marijuana weighed 93 pounds with an estimated value of $74,000 and was turned over to the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office. Carter and Landreneaux were taken into custody by ICSO. The Polaris Ranger was seized by ICSO.The general public is reminded to observe a 100-foot enforcement zone from the international boundary fence in order to avoid hazardous and sometimes violent illegal cross-border activity, and to allow to Border Patrol to conduct operations within the area.U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Border Fence near the Imperial Sand Dunes

Buttercup

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