October 2024 – Volunteers Accomplish Adopt-a-highway Project
October 15, 2024 – Steve Roholt writes:
Today, 14 FOSM volunteers participated in our semiannual trash pickup. This was a volunteer project for the NM Department of Transportation. Two main tasks were taken on.
- First, our required trash pickup. This was completed today.
- Second, brushing along both highway shoulders. The amount of brushing was impressive. The northern and southern 0.2 miles were completed today. The middle 0.6 mile was partially completed. We will have another project in the spring. The long-term goal is to provide sustainable visibility and prevent brush from encroaching on the highway right of way.
Volunteers were Tim Kirkpatrick, Sam Beard, Sim Cook, Dan Benton, Don Carnicom, Mike Madden, Cliff Giles, Rav Nicholson, Karen Greif, Anne Hickman, Jamey Browning, Pauline Ho, Rick Buss, and Steve Roholt. The weather was ideal.
Special thanks to founding FOSM members Don Carnicom and Sam Beard for helping out.
October 22, 2024 – Mike Madden writes:
Today 6 FOSM volunteers continued brushing where we left off a week ago, on our semi-annual Crest Road Adopt-A-Highway clean-up. Yesterday Sam Beard had prepared 6 small chainsaws at the Guard Station for today’s task of finishing the remaining quarter mile of densely overgrown brush along the guardrail between milepost 4 and 5. Sam Beard, Don Carnicom, Cliff Giles, Tim Kirkpatrick, Jamey Browning, and Mike Madden met at our AAH pullout at 10am. I estimated it would take two hours, finishing by noon. 4 certified sawyers handled pole saw & chainsaws, since the trees were up to 5″ in diameter! Our goal was to clear about 6 feet beyond the guardrail. Don used a brush cutter. Cliff used loppers. We finished the job at 11:55am, 5 minutes early! A beautiful day on the mountain… sunny, warm, no wind. Check-out our mile 4-5 handiwork the next time you’re heading up there.
May 28, 2024 – Volunteers Perform Cleanup on Sandia Crest Highway
Adopt-a-Highway project leader Steve Roholt reports:
Today a group of 15 volunteers participated in FOSM’s semi-annual Adopt-a-Highway cleanup. I’m embarrassed about the blurry photo. You get the idea though. We had a great crew today. I was impressed by the level of participation!
The volunteers were Cliff Giles, Mike Madden, Rav Nicholson , Ken Nicholson, Laura Leon, Anne Hickman, Karen Grief, Pauline Ho, Rick Buss, Rich Miller, Scott Dietrich, Jamey Browning, Don Carnicom, Sim Cook and Steve Roholt.
We alternated between picking up and bagging trash, brush cutting and pruning along the guardrail, and clearing the shoulder of loose dirt that may be hazardous for cyclists coming downhill. We started at 0900, and most volunteers left by 1100.
It was a beautiful day out there and the traffic was not too bad. Our previous cleanup from last year was evident, and there was not a lot of trash to collect.
October 17, 2023 – Thirteen FOSM Volunteers Complete Adopt-a-highway Project
From project leader Steve Roholt:
Thirteen FOSM volunteers participated in our semi-annual trash pickup and brush removal between mile markers 4 and 5 on state highway 536. Traffic was light and the weather ideal.
We divided into 2 teams: Pauline Ho, Rick Buss, Tim Brown, Karen Grief, Rav Nicholson , Judy Pekarek, and Jerry Pekarek picked up and bagged trash while Dan Benton, Don Carnicom, Cliff Giles, Sim Cook, and Jamey Browning did brush cutting in the ditches and along the guardrail.
We completed our work by 11:00 AM.
June 24, 2023 – Eleven FOSM Volunteers Participate in First Adopt-a-Highway Cleanup
FOSM board member Steve Roholt organized and led our first Adopt-a-Highway trash-collection and brush-removal day for our adopted section (Mile 4 to 5) of the Crest Highway (State Highway 536). Our agreement with NMDOT is to pick up trash twice per year.
Steve’s report including several photos taken by Scott Dietrich can be accessed by clicking on the image at above right.
Steve plans to schedule our second Adopt-a-Highway day sometime this fall.