10-39
Acting Superintendent John Wessels announced today that Michael Nash was selected to fill the vacant chief ranger position at Grand Teton National Park. For two years (2008-2010), Nash served as the deputy chief ranger at Grand Canyon National Park before he took over as Grand Canyon’s chief ranger in February of this year. Nash replaces Andy Fisher who served as Grand Teton’s chief ranger from June 2004 until his retirement from the position this past April.
Nash will be responsible for the park’s Division of Visitor and Resource Protection: a division that includes the branch of ranger activities, the branch of fire and aviation management, the Teton Interagency Dispatch Center, and the fee and revenue program. The division performs a full range of public safety and service functions such as law enforcement, search and rescue (SAR), emergency medical services (EMS), wireless communications, structural fire response, and resource protection.
Nash started his National Park Service career as seasonal park ranger in 1992 at Acadia National Park in Maine. He landed a similar position at Grand Canyon in May of 1993 and worked through November of 1994 before he became a permanent park ranger with the primary responsibility of patrolling the backcountry and wilderness areas of Grand Canyon. In late 1999, Nash transferred to Yosemite National Park in California where he worked in the Valley District conducting front country patrols and SAR responses for this high use area of Yosemite. He accepted a detail (temporary) position as the EMS and SAR program coordinator at Yosemite in 2001 and served in that capacity for one year. In 2002, Nash transferred to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee as lead supervisory ranger for the Little River district. While working at Great Smoky Mountains, Nash also served as the acting North District ranger, and acting Cades Cove District ranger; he was also assigned to be the deputy operations chief during Hurricane Isabel in September of 2003.
Nash took a district ranger position at the South Rim of Grand Canyon in 2006, where in addition to conducting the major law enforcement activities for this busy park area, he also established a Volunteer-in-Parks visitor assistance program to support ranger operations. Nash once again accepted a detail (temporary) assignment as management assistant to the superintendent of Grand Canyon: a position he held for four months before becoming the deputy chief ranger at Grand Canyon in 2008.
Nash was born in Akron, Ohio. He graduated from the University of Akron in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in cartography/geography. He previously earned an Associate Degree of Applied Science in computer drafting technology.
Nash will begin his new assignment at Grand Teton in early August. He and his wife, Julie, along with their children, Dylan (age 8) and Ella (age 5), look forward to experiencing the many outdoor recreational opportunities available in the park and throughout the Jackson Hole valley.
