Representative Raúl M. Grijalva’s Enduring Legacy

Last year, the climate and environmental justice movement lost a giant. For more than two decades in Congress, including a decade as co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and another decade as top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, Representative Raúl M. Grijalva stood unapologetically for clean air and water, Tribal sovereignty, the protection of public lands, and the fundamental belief that every community deserves a healthy, dignified future. LCV and Chispa Arizona honor his leadership, which profoundly reshaped the environmental debate in Congress and helped build a movement that will carry his work forward for generations.

As chair of the House Natural Resources Committee from 2019 to 2023, Grijalva built a new and visionary national platform for climate action, environmental justice, and Indigenous rights. During his tenure, the Committee confronted the realities of the climate crisis with urgency and clarity, centering the voices of those most impacted and holding the fossil fuel industry to account.

Among his many accomplishments, then-Chair Grijalva led passage of the Great American Outdoors Act into law, a generational conservation win that included permanent funding for the popular Land and Water Conservation Fund and protected millions of acres of public lands and waters in perpetuity. He also championed major investments in climate and ocean action through the historic Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, helping direct billions of dollars toward communities already suffering from drought, wildfires, flooding, and pollution. His Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act was foundational in the development of President Biden’s landmark Ocean Climate Action Plan.

Long before environmental justice was part of the congressional conversation, Representative Grijalva helped bring it to the forefront. Alongside his friend and colleague, the late Representative A. Donald McEachin, he co-led the first congressional summit on environmental justice and spearheaded the Environmental Justice for All Act, groundbreaking legislation to remedy the disproportionate burden of pollution on low-income communities and communities of color. Always keeping underrepresented voices as his compass, the legislation was drafted through a first-of-its-kind and extensive public input process.

Representative Grijalva’s steadfast commitment to our public lands and waters was deeply rooted in the belief that the country’s First Americans should have a leading role in the stewardship of our natural resources. In addition to championing Tribal co-management legislation and the protection of Indigenous sacred sites, like Bears Ears and Chaco Canyon, Grijalva led efforts to standardize and codify Tribal consultation requirements through his RESPECT Act.

In a historic win for Native nations in Arizona and beyond, Grijalva’s leadership was instrumental in the designation of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, permanently protecting nearly one million acres of sacred and culturally significant lands from uranium mining. He also consistently stood with Native nations to protect Oak Flat and other threatened sites.

Recognizing the devastating legacy of hardrock mining on Native nations and communities across the West, Grijalva was a foremost proponent of comprehensive mining reform. He consistently led legislation to modernize the 1872 Mining Law, hold mining companies accountable, uphold Tribal sovereignty, and protect communities from toxic contamination. He also held the first-ever congressional hearings on other issues important to Indigenous communities, including Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls, Indian boarding schools, and the U.S. government’s history of Native land dispossession, among others.

LCV, Chispa Arizona, and the environmental community at large remember Representative Grijalva as a champion who led not only with policy expertise but with humility and heart. He welcomed young advocates into his office and mentored rising leaders, believing deeply in the power of youth voices—especially those speaking out about climate change and environmental justice.

Today, Representative Grijalva’s legacy endures through protected landscapes, historic progress on environmental justice and Tribal sovereignty, and in the next generation of leaders he helped inspire. LCV and Chispa Arizona are honored to continue the work he devoted his life to: standing up for communities, protecting our public lands and waters, and working toward a future that ensures justice and prosperity for all.