PAGE, Ariz. – Nichelle Rich, who has been selected as the new chief of Commercial Services at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, brings nearly a decade of National Park Service experience to the post.
As chief of Commercial Services, she is responsible for managing the Commercial Services Office for Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Rainbow Bridge National Monument.
This Commercial Services Office is one of the largest in the NPS, managing all of the contracts and permits that authorize businesses operating within both park units.
“Nichelle Rich brings important skills and experience to the Glen Canyon Commercial Services Program,” Glen Canyon Superintendent Michelle Kerns said in a news release. “We are excited to promote her to her new position as chief of Commercial Services and to also welcome her as a member of our park management team.”
This includes large marinas, boat and raft tour concession contracts, the Commercial Use Authorization (CUA) program and the Special Use Permit (SUP) program for events.
The concession contracts and CUA program span two states and include operations on the Colorado River and the remote backcountry of Glen Canyon. Commercial Services partners with the Navajo Nation, Grand Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Bureau of Reclamation and several Bureau of Land Management units.
In 2021, Rich moved to Glen Canyon from Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which is the most similar Commercial Services Program in the NPS to the Glen Canyon program. Rich worked for the Lake Mead Commercial Services Division managing the CUA program, and the 1965 concessions law and 1998 concession law contracts, with large marina services.
She was a Supervisory Visitor Use assistant at Lake Mead before transitioning to the Commercial Services Office. In 2019, Rich attended Desert Parks Leadership Academy, a year-long leadership program modeled after NPS’s Generating Organizational Advancement and Leadership (GOAL) Academy.
Rich graduated from Humboldt State University in 2006 with degrees in anthropology and art history. After taking a break from studies to travel, she graduated from Seton Hall University in 2012 with a graduate degree in museum studies. She likes to travel, hike, camp and spend time with her family.