Melissa May

OSM/VISTA Planning and Outreach Coordinator, San Juan Watershed Group
Aztec, New Mexico

Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement

How Melissa May got involved with Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement
After finishing my M.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science through Penn State’s interdisciplinary Watershed Stewardship program in 2011, I knew two things about what I wanted to do next. First, that I wanted to get more hands on experience doing community based conservation work, and second, that I wanted to explore the West. After searching the AmeriCorps website, I came upon the Western Hardrock Watershed Team’s OSM/VISTA program, and immediately knew this was something I wanted to get involved with.

Experience
New Mexico is an entirely different landscape than my home state of Pennsylvania, especially when it comes to issues of water. In my year with the San Juan Watershed Group, I have been fortunate to get to work alongside a large number of professionals who have been able to share with me their expertise in the nuances of the Western water world. One of the main highlights of my year has been to just sit back and listen to these people and learn from them as much as I can.

Melissa May's accomplishments
Since starting work with the San Juan Watershed Group, I have been able to develop our group’s first ever outreach materials, including informational brochures, water quality maps, a presence on social media sites, and our very own website. I also helped to mobilize group members and secure funding to host a river health workshop that will occur this fall. My biggest accomplishment, however, was spear-heading the grant writing process for a $500,000 grant which our group received to conduct a microbial source tracking study to address E. coli pollution in local rivers, and to conduct community outreach and remediation after the study is complete. You can read more about this project in the attached excerpt from the WHWT quarterly newsletter.

Melissa May's next steps
In my year working with the SJWG and WHWT, I have fallen in love with both the Four Corners area, and with the idea of working to conserve and restore water resources in this region through community based conservation. I have been offered a position to continue working on many of these projects as an employee with the San Juan Soil and Water Conservation District, and am excited to be beginning what I hope to be a long career in watershed and natural resource management.

Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
School: Penn State University
Major: B.S. Environmental Resource Management; M.S. Wildlife and Fisheries Science, Watershed Stewardship Option