About 170 tons of trash and tires have been cleaned up from two sites in southeastern New Mexico as the State Land Office continues efforts to mitigate trespassing and illegal dumping concerns on trust lands.

The Land Office said people had been dumping trash at two pits in Lea County where caliche was mined for use in road construction and for oil drilling well pads.

The pits became home to discarded appliances, rotting upholstery, animal carcasses and other hazardous materials. After the trash was removed, the sites were graded and seeded with native grasses and flowering plants.

The cleanup work totaled more than $88,000.

In the 2017 fiscal year, crews removed more than 550 tons of waste from 11 caliche pits on state trust lands in Eddy and Lea counties.