NAU Students Aid Grand Canyon Recovery After Dragon Bravo Fire

In the wake of the devastating Dragon Bravo fire of 2025, which swept across the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, the landscape was left scarred, not just by the destruction of ponderosa pine forests and historic landmarks, but also by the remnants of barbed-wire fencing. Spanning 40 miles, these mangled fences posed significant risks to the local wildlife.

Responding to this challenge, Northern Arizona University (NAU) joined forces with the Grand Canyon Trust (GCT) to initiate a recovery effort. This collaboration, part of an ongoing partnership, saw students from the Grand Canyon Semester stepping up to clear five miles of the damaged fencing over two days in August. Ted Martinez, an Honors College professor at NAU, spearheaded this effort.

“Grand Canyon Semester took their first trip of Fall 2026 to the North Rim to work with GCT and Grand Canyon National Park as a way to give back to the park and participate in on-the-ground conservation work,” Martinez explained.

The Grand Canyon Semester is an immersive program combining academic learning with practical experiences across northern Arizona’s diverse landscapes. This unique curriculum allows students to delve into subjects such as geology, biology, and Indigenous history through hands-on activities and field trips.

Students like LeaLynn Scott, a junior in environmental sciences, found the experience invaluable. “Being able to make our natural spaces even a little more habitable after the Dragon Bravo Fire was truly an amazing opportunity,” Scott shared.

For Samuel Grumeretz, a senior studying journalism, the clean-up project was a chance to reconnect with his passion for conservation, a field he hopes to document through film. “I learned a lot about the nature of on-the-ground work for conservation and got to participate in it myself, something I’ve always wanted to do more of and thoroughly enjoyed,” Grumeretz noted.

“I had the assumption that to conserve we must be hands off and let nature run its course. This project proved that wrong for me. There are things we’ve done to impact the natural world that will not be erased unless we put in effort to fix them.”
Charles Root, junior, ceramic arts

Amid federal budget cuts, GCT’s reliance on volunteers has grown. Audrey Kruse, GCT’s community engagement director, emphasized the critical role volunteers play in conservation efforts. “Volunteer capacity is one way the public can support the ongoing efforts of our public land agencies right now,” Kruse stated.

“This experience allowed me to see firsthand the anthropological effects infrastructure has on all realms of biology.”
Justine Bushman, sophomore, environmental sciences

NAU and GCT’s partnership, which has flourished for over a decade, exemplifies the power of collaborative conservation efforts. Kruse, who has firsthand experience with the program, reflected on its impact, saying, “So many Grand Canyon Semester alums are now leading students on these experiential learning trips. I see it as a wonderful infinity loop; we’re all tied together, giving back to each other.”

Jill Kimball | NAU Communications
(928) 523-2282 | jill.kimball@nau.edu