The US House unanimously passed a bill that would speed up reconstruction of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon following last year’s Dragon Bravo Fire. It would streamline the federal contracting process as the National Park Service rebuilds the more than 100 buildings and infrastructure that were destroyed. The North Rim Restoration Act is sponsored by Republican Congressman Eli Crane. Democratic Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego have introduced companion legislation. The Dragon Bravo Fire forced widespread closures in the park and forest land. Local businesses in Jacob Lake, Kanab, Fredonia and elsewhere have suffered because of lost North Rim tourism.
A group of Apache women has made a last-ditch appeal to the U-S Supreme Court to stop a federal land swap of a tribal sacred site in central Arizona. For centuries Oak Flat has been used for religious ceremonies, prayer and gathering medicinal plants. But it’s the site of one of the largest copper deposits in North America and two companies plan to mine it. The title to the land was conveyed to Resolution Copper last week after an appeals court denied requests by the San Carlos Apache Tribe and environmentalists to block it. The tribe, the group Apache Stronghold and other plaintiffs have fought for years to save the site.
Managers on the Kaibab National Forest are planning a series of prescribed burns north of the Grand Canyon that could begin as early as today. The four areas, totaling more than 6,100 acres, are near Jacob Lake north of Highway 89A. The burns are designed to reduce overgrown vegetation and help protect local communities, infrastructure and natural resources from wildfire. The area may be closed for several days including a three-and-a-half-mile section of the Arizona National Scenic Trail. Smoke could impact Jacob Lake, Fredonia, Kanab and Highway 89A. Officials say crews will look for opportunities to burn through May 15th as weather conditions allow.
Officials at Grand Canyon National Park say the population of bison on the North Rim has likely grown by up to 30%. Last year’s Dragon Bravo Fire prevented annual capture and removal operations of the animals. The park has worked for years to decrease the number of bison, and they damage vegetation, archeological sites and animal habitat. In addition, officials say their annual bison count was more challenging this year. Typically, the work takes place after snowfall on the North Rim when the dark-colored bison stand out. But this year’s helicopter flight took place earlier this month under very dry conditions with little snow.
In November, Arizona will have a race for state mine inspector for the first time in eight years. Governor Katie Hobbs appointed incumbent and mining industry veteran Les Presmyk in September when his predecessor, Paul Marsh, left the office for another job. Marsh, a Republican, was elected in 2022 after running unopposed. Hobbs was required to select a GOP replacement for him. This year, however, Democrat Brian Matlock, who also has a long history in the mining industry, will challenge Presmyk. Arizona hasn’t had a Democratic mine inspector since 1976. One of the main jobs of the office is to secure abandoned mines.
A Republican state senator wants to add 30 more representatives to the State House. It currently includes 60 representatives from Arizona’s 30 legislative districts. State Senator J-D Mesnard says that makes it hard for lawmakers to get to know the residents since the average district has hundreds of thousands of people. He wants to divide Arizona into 90 House districts with one representative for each smaller area. If passed by voters, nothing would change until after the 2040 Census. There could be logistical and cost challenges, however. The current House chamber is designed for only 60 members, not 90.
New federal funding will allow researchers in Arizona and other states in the region to study the polluted air associated with wildfires. The Nevada-based nonprofit Desert Research received a $1.3,000,000 grant to work with NASA and focus on the health impacts of wildfires. Scientists say the goal is to fill gaps in their knowledge about wildfire smoke and to reach a greater level of accuracy and predictability with their research. Studies will begin in Nevada and eventually include Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho and Utah.
And, state wildlife managers released 19 endangered black-footed ferrets at three sites in northern Arizona last week. They hope to bolster the population of one of the nation’s most imperiled mammal species. Biologists released them into the Aubrey Valley and Double O Ranch area near Seligman and at Garland Prairie near Parks. The species was thought to be extinct until the early 1980s. About 300 ferrets live in the wild in the US and Arizona is home to about 20. The animals’ biggest threat is sylvatic plague, which is carried by fleas and infects both ferrets and their main prey, Gunnison’s prairie dogs.
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