The Valley of Fire Visitors Center will soon be the home of a new gift and souvenir shop operated by the Nevada Division of State Parks. Photo by Mike Donahue.

By Mike Donahue

Moapa Valley Progress

A new gift and souvenir shop in the Valley of Fire State Park Visitors Center is tentatively scheduled to open the first of October and for the first time in the history of the park it will be operated entirely by the Nevada Division of State Parks.

Jim Hammonds, Valley of Fire park supervisor, said the Nevada Legislature this year approved giving the division authority to operate retail outlets in state parks.

“This fall or early winter the division expects to open shops in four parks including Valley of Fire, the Old Mormon Fort in Las Vegas, Spring Mountain Ranch located in the Red Rock National Conservation Area and Cathedral Gorge near Panaca,” Hammonds said. “Stores in other parks like Lake Tahoe are expected to open next year.”

For many years a gift shop was part of the Valley of Fire Visitors Center. It was operated by non-profit organization run by a volunteer board. The non-profit was forced to close the store last August after it essentially went out of business. After the shop closed the Division of Parks decided to take over the operation.

“Because we’re state government and controlled by NRS (Nevada Revised Statutes), the Nevada Legislature had to make some changes in state law giving us permission to operate a retail outlet,” Hammond said. “The legislation was approved and we’ve been scrambling to write an operations manual governing the store operations.”

At this point Hammonds said it appears the state personnel department will hire a manager to oversee the entire retail operation across the state, then individual managers for each store.

“At Valley of Fire we’ll probably use park aides to staff the store, but we’re still working out the details,” he said. “This stuff is a whole new animal for us.”

Hammonds said the ultimate goal is to have the store not only be self supportive, but also help “the parks department wean itself off some of the general fund.”

Visitors to the new Valley of Fire store park can expect to have access to interpretive materials such as books, maps, brochures, guides and other learning tools, as well as souvenir merchandise, jewelry and even some camping supplies.