Leadership spotlight: vegetation program nursery manager Ashton (Ash) Bedford

Ash Bedford has recently returned as the vegetation program nursery manager at Grand Canyon National Park.

He previously worked for the vegetation program, leading nursery activities for seven years from 2008 to 2015.

After leaving the program to earn his master’s degree in geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing in 2016, Bedford went to work at the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC). There, he focused on remote sensing analysis and resource mapping in Grand Canyon using the high-resolution multispectral data the agency collects. He worked at GCMRC until September 2022, when he made the decision to return to the park.

Bedford and his wife Mariah have four children and enjoy being part of the Grand Canyon community. “I’m very excited to be back here at Grand Canyon National Park growing plants and helping to promote vegetation resources here,” he said.