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Grand Canyon Superintendent Under Investigation

Christine Lehnertz
National Park Service
Christine Lehnertz is the first woman to take on the role of Grand Canyon National Park superintendent.

The National Park Service plans to reassign the Grand Canyon superintendent amid a federal investigation. The agency would not say what those allegations are.

Investigators from the Interior Department's Office of Inspector General arrived at the park this week. The allegations involve Grand Canyon Superintendent Christine Lehnertz, but neither the park service nor the inspector general would say what led to the investigation.

Lehnertz will be reassigned outside Grand Canyon to protect the integrity of the investigation. She is currently on leave.

She is a trained environmental biologist who's been with the park service for more than 10 years. She started at Grand Canyon in August 2016 after a sexual harassment scandal  that led to the retirement of the park's former chief.

Laurel Morales was a Fronteras Desk senior field correspondent in Flagstaff from 2011 to 2020.