Molly K Ottman

Holbrook, AZ: Over the Memorial Day weekend (May 23–May 26), the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Navajo County Sheriff’s Auxiliary Volunteers and the Navajo County Patrol Posse, saturated the forests with a strong and visible presence to help protect the community during this period of extreme fire danger.

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear Apache Stronghold v. United States, a case that challenged the federal government’s planned transfer of Oak Flat—a sacred site in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest—to a copper mining company. The decision allows the land swap to proceed, enabling Resolution Copper, a partnership between mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP, to develop one of the world’s largest known underground copper mines.

Holbrook, AZ—Missing Pinedale woman Karen Blaine was located, deceased. Local resources and the Sheriff's Office swiftly conducted an extensive search for Mrs. Blaine in October, and the community and the Sheriff's Office resources continued until she was found. 

Greer, AZ—The Greer Fire, a fast-moving wildfire, has scorched over 12,000 acres as of May 16 in Apache County, triggering mandatory evacuations. Federal assistance has been activated, and local Mayors have declared emergencies in what many are calling the region’s most dangerous wildfire since the Wallow Fire of 2011.

The National Weather Service (NWS) is on heightened alert after recent threats from an Arizona militia-style group that believes the agency’s Doppler radar systems are being used as “weather weapons.”

ARIZONA—On April 11, the Arizona Game and Fish Commission rejected a formal petition from the Center for Biological Diversity and other environmental groups. The petition sought to ban the use of hunting dogs to harvest game in Arizona, citing the harassment of jaguars by hound hunting dogs as their top concern.

Show Low, AZ—Hundreds of residents around the White Mountains gathered Saturday on the Deuce of Clubs as part of a nationwide' day of action' to protest President Trump and his policies.