Arizona’s longest-serving Congressman has died. Raúl Grijalva passed away from complications from cancer treatment yesterday. He was 77.
A longtime fixture in Tucson politics, Grijalva served in the House of Representatives since 2002, championing environmental protection, immigrants’ rights and public education throughout his long career. Until last year, he served as the ranking member of the House’s Natural Resources Committee, fighting to stop mining across the state, including near the Grand Canyon and to preserve the natural beauty of the Sonoran Desert.
Sandy Bahr, director of the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter, worked alongside him on those issues throughout his career, and joined The Show to talk more about it.
Full conversation
LAUREN GILGER: So Grijalva got the Sonoran Desert Conservation plan passed back when he was before he even served in Congress, when he was serving on the Pima County Board of Supervisors, right? Talk a little bit about the inspiration, where you think his, his passion came for fighting for environmental issues.
SANDY BAHR: Well, first and foremost, he put people first, always. And recognized that people are part of the environment, but I think also, you know, his heart was in the Sonoran Desert, and he loved it and he really was visionary in putting forth the Sonoran Desert Conservation plan, something that really has happened nowhere else, and that has protected a lot of the lands in Pima County and, as supervisor, he helped to push through the plan and funding and it's won many awards and been recognized as something that really had bipartisan support as well on the county board of supervisors.
GILGER: You've known him since then, right?
BAHR: Yes, yes.
GILGER: A long career in all of this and, and so much has happened, right? Like he's passed landmark legislation that he authored and also got passed from the National Landscape Conservation System Act, the Federal Lands Restoration Act, the Environmental Justice for All Act. I'm sure all of these mean a lot to you. In your mind, Sandy, like, what are some of his most notable accomplishments on this front?
BAHR: Well, I think, you know, I want to say that he brought environmental justice to the forefront, and he also brought the voices of many tribal communities, indigenous leaders to the forefront. And that is something that we, we really hadn't seen. And it wasn't like he was saying, “having them be part of it just because he wanted to have a diverse coalition.” It was because he recognized that their voices were really important, and so, I think that is super important.
His work on protecting the Grand Canyon region. And he was instrumental in getting the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni, ancestral footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument established, and he helped to lead that effort through several administrations. That work started back when Obama was president and working with 14 tribes, to help make that happen and then, President Biden established that in 2023. That was huge.
He's fought for protecting Oak Flat, he fought the land exchange. And pretty much every session has introduced the Save Oak Flat Act, and again, that is, yeah, that's an environmental issue, but it's also a religious freedom issue, environmental justice issue. The San Carlos Apache have been fighting alongside him on that for a very long time. So, he has been instrumental in so many things and like I said, he's always put people first.
GILGER: Yeah, yeah, he was the first to hold congressional hearings on missing and murdered indigenous women. It sounds like he was really a trailblazer in including tribal voices, as you're pointing out there.
BAHR: Absolutely, I remember being in D.C. when, when Dob Holland chaired, the subcommittee and he was chair of the Natural Resources Committee, and they were hearing a bill to protect the lands around Grand Canyon and there was a news conference and, you know, the nation's capital was in the background and all these indigenous leaders and, he, you know, he was inspirational, but at the same time, so down to earth and so, like, giving everyone hugs, he always made time for just, you know, the average person who would be stopping by in in D.C. One of our staff who was just there with her son, you know, just wanted to stop in and say hello, he made time to meet with them and meet with her son and you know. Those are the kinds of things that have, those little things have lasting impact.
GILGER: Yeah, yeah. He invited you to testify in Congress once.
BAHR: My only time, testifying in Congress was when he chaired the subcommittee, and it was on Oak Flat, and I was so afraid and, also so, honored to be part of that and, you know, he was so gracious and And supportive and like I said from the beginning was working to, to protect that area. And there were several indigenous leaders on that panel as well. So, yeah, I'll never forget that either. And of course, I got a hug too.
GILGER: Always hugging, I like that. I want to ask about some of the wins and losses, right? Because this is, you know, he's probably had a number of both over the course of his career, right? Not, not always winning on these environmental issues. Sometimes the mines are, you know, are, are allowed to go forward and he fought against them, that kind of thing. Why do you think he kept at it?
BAHR: Well, he thought it was important, and I think that's the sign of a true leader, someone who is willing to take on the tough issues. It's easy to do something when you have everyone who supporting it and you know you have the votes, but on the issues where, you know, maybe it's a little tougher. I mean, immigration, that is not an easy issue. He was willing to take that on and be part of it.
On protecting Oak Flat, you know, the bill went through Congress. It had the support of Senator John McCain, but, but, Congressman Grijalva was willing to continue to fight for that area even when it seemed like the fight was over and I think he was really passionate about protecting the land, but also always connecting the land with the people. And, I think that that kept him going.
He just had a good center for, for what was, what was right, what was important, and he was, he was persistent. He was fighting till the end. I mean, he really was fighting till the end, pushing back against the Trump administration even when he was very sick.
GILGER: Yeah, we kept getting statements. Exactly. It never stopped. I want to ask you before I let you go about your personal relationship with Grijalva, and you said he would always give a hug you, but you knew him for, you know, 20, 30 years maybe. I mean, this is a long time. What was he like to work with personally?
BAHR: He was very warm. He was direct, which I appreciated. He had a wonderful sense of humor. I can hear his laugh right now. He, he, he was kind, but he also like they would, would have sometimes these little funny digs that you would, you know, when someone was being pompous or something like that. And yeah, he, he always, He always made people feel welcome. Yeah, I always felt like I was heard, and, you know, obviously we agreed a lot of times because we were both advocating for conservation, but I never felt like he was just going through the motions. He would take time.
You would have like a half hour meeting and it would be an hour and a half, and he would tell stories, he would listen to your stories as well. Young people, when they would come in and they were new, one of our staff who was brand new to lobbying and it was her first experience and, you know, she, what a great first experience lobbying with Congressman Grijalva, just a wonderful, kind person who will be missed so much.
