Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Grand Canyon flash flood kills 2, leaves 1 still missing
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Tuesday, September 1, 2026
Grand Canyon flooding; Source: GrandCanyonNPS/x.com ([link removed])
A flash flood tore through the bottom of the Grand Canyon over the weekend, killing at least two people and leaving one missing ([link removed]) . Between half an inch and a full inch of rain fell in just 30 minutes Saturday afternoon, sending a wall of water down Bright Angel Creek toward the Colorado River.
Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel Campground, and the North Kaibab Trail are closed indefinitely ([link removed]) while crews assess the damage. At least 80 people were rescued ([link removed]) from the canyon. Part of the reason the storm was so destructive is that it hit the burn scar ([link removed]) of the Dragon Bravo wildfire, a destructive blaze that swept across nearly 150,000 acres near the Grand Canyon in July 2025.
"It was like a whirlpool in there, with all the debris circling around, cabins and other equipment," evacuee David Gregory told CBS News ([link removed]) . One footbridge collapsed roughly 10 minutes after his group crossed it. Another hiker in the canyon, Parth Desai, described "waterfalls coming up out of nowhere; boulders, mud, landslides happening everywhere," according to Al Jazeera ([link removed]) .
A similar downpour on Monday caused destructive flooding at Zion National Park ([link removed]) . All slot canyons in the park, including The Narrows, were shut off to visitors due to rising water. So far, no one has been reported dead or missing due to this flooding.
Live from Tucson: Arizona’s Public Lands and the Border Wall
The latest episode of The Landscape ([link removed]) , recorded live in Tucson as part of CWP's Keep Parks Public tour ([link removed]) , brings together four experts to discuss the current state of Arizona's public lands: Matthew Nelson with the Arizona Trail Association, Russ McSpadden with the Center for Biological Diversity, Emily Burns with Sky Island Alliance, and Amy Juan from the Tohono O’odham Nation. They talk about the negative impacts of border wall construction ;on wildlife migration, national parks, and Indigenous sites. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.
** Quick hits
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Report warns of environmental impacts from proposed oil and gas lease near Grand Canyon
KJZZ ([link removed])
Federal judge extends pause on Big Bend border security construction
Texas Public Radio ([link removed])
Opinion: Trump’s plan to sell off a part of Yosemite is what oligarchy looks like
The Guardian ([link removed])
How intense rains in the Grand Canyon turned into a deadly disaster
The Guardian ([link removed])
Proposed changes to U.S. Forest Service rule could open door to more e-bikes, ATVs on national forest lands
Post Independent ([link removed])
Trump’s national park fees for foreign tourists fail to raise expected revenue
Forbes ([link removed])
Interior Department approves massive Navajo coal mine expansion
Santa Fe New Mexican ([link removed])
The buzz of chainsaws in Idaho is testing what wilderness means
KUNC ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” A lot of people see wilderness as nothing but a backcountry recreation area, but it's way more than that. It's really not even about us. It's about nature. It's about the places. It's kind of nature's bill of rights.”
—George Nickas, former executive director of Wilderness Watch, KUNC ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@Interior ([link removed])
Dolly Parton once described the Smokies as “one of those special places that God put here for us to enjoy.”
At Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s 75th anniversary celebration in 2009, she sang about that special place in “My Mountains, My Home.”
Video by @hawriverfilms ([link removed])
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