In graduate school Melanie Sturm ’12 focused on the four Es – “ecology, economics and ethics of the environment.” Her knowledge of those interconnected disciplines and her biology degree from Elizabethtown College will serve her well in her newest venture. Sturm is now policy fellow with the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) in Washington, D.C.
“I’ll be representing individual anglers and companies – we have over 100 companies that we work with – Dick’s Sporting Goods, Sports Authority, Shimano …” Sturm said of the organization. “I’ll be lobbying and following Congress to be sure outdoor enthusiasts, especially anglers and our industry members, are being heard on (Capitol) Hill.
“We’re concerned about protecting the environment while giving anglers access to fresh and saltwater fishing areas,” she said.
The Association was established in 1933 to represent the business interests of tackle manufacturers but has grown in time to represent the entire sportfishing community – those who angle for recreation rather than commercial interest.
We’re concerned about protecting the environment while giving anglers access to fresh and saltwater fishing areas.”
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, there are nearly 40 million licensed anglers in the United States. In those numbers, they have a $115 billion impact on the nation’s economy including the creation of employment for more than 828,000 people. “The political clout is even greater when you consider at least 60 million anglers fished at some point over the past five years and consider themselves to be anglers,” noted the ASA website.
Though her “brother is big into fishing,” Sturm said, the E-town alum admitted to not knowing anything about the ASA until she interviewed for the position this spring.
Now five weeks into the job, Sturm expressed that she’s “fascinated by the culture of fishing, being on the water …
“I went out last week with the government affairs department on a creek that feeds into the Potomac. I felt confident in knowing about my fish species, but I ended up impressed by the commercial side of fishing — the rods, the lures. There are tens of billions of dollars contributed to the economy.”
After Elizabethtown, Sturm earned her master’s degree in biology and society from Arizona State University, a program she looked into at the coaxing of E-town’s Dr. David Bowne, associate professor of biology. “He turned me onto the program when I was looking for fitting graduate schools,” she said. “I’m glad he did.”
“While at Elizabethtown College, Melanie demonstrated a strong ability to integrate information across disciplines,” said Bowne, noting that Sturm’s success in graduate school at Arizona State University and now as a policy fellow is not a surprise to him. “She repeatedly demonstrated this ability in classes, during independent research with Dr. (Debra) Wohl and me and while participating in a semester abroad with American University.”
Sturm admitted that while in school, she didn’t have a particular job she was looking for instead, she said, “I was looking for a position that was a mixture of science and decision making.”
As a two-year policy fellow, Sturm will have that mix as she works in government affairs on the national and state levels along NGOs and federal agencies, such as the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Coast Guard. “Policy is not what I was formally trained in,” she said, “but I was interested in dealing with issues of natural resource management, and that meant stepping out of science and getting into the social side of environmental issues, like politics.”
Bowne noted that with Sturm’s interdisciplinary intellect and passion for environmental issues, plus an academic path that led from a bachelor’s degree in biology to her master’s degree in biology and society, it’s a natural fit for her to find a position in which she analyzes policy for a major environmental NGO. “It’s a joy for me to witness a student with great promise achieve so much,” he said.
Sturm said she was offered a position with the U.S. Forest Service just a few months ago, but she turned it down. “I just wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. It was a wonderful position, but after a lot of anxiety I didn’t take it. I am happy with how things played out and, oddly enough, for work purposes, I sometimes comunicate with the person who would’ve been my supervisor at the Forest Service.
Originally from Williamsport and an outdoor enthusiast, herself, Sturm said she wasn’t sure she wanted to live in Washington, D.C., “but then I realized that D.C. is where the decisions are made. … I’m just realizing, now, the amount of effort it takes to affect change in how our nation functions.”