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Sustainable Recreation Best Practices & User Education
Melissa Boyle Acuti is currently the Chief of Interpretation with the Maryland Park Service and typically works out of the Annapolis Headquarters Office, although at any given time she can be found helping with programs, events or trainings across the state. After many summers of Junior Rangers during her youth, Melissa became both an intern and seasonal naturalist at Point Lookout State Park during college. Melissa has worked full-time with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources- Maryland Park Service since 2010. She worked as a Park Ranger and the Assistant Manager at Point Lookout State Park and as the Conservation Corps Program Coordinator before taking her current position.
Fun fact- Melissa has worked at county, state and national parks during her career!
Melissa has her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and her Master’s Degree in Environmental Biology from Hood College.
Melissa currently lives in Anne Arundel County and in her spare time enjoys a variety of outdoor activities from bird-watching and gardening (with native plants and growing vegetables from seed) to watersports, including kayaking and sailing in the Chesapeake region. Melissa is a lead guide for kayak tours for Atlantic Kayak Company at Mallows Bay National Marine Sanctuary. She has also recently taken up hunting after attending a Becoming An Outdoors Woman (BOW) program and participating in a mentored hunt, which resulted in a successful harvest.
In addition, each fall Melissa tags migratory Monarch butterflies and runs an owl banding station for migratory Northern Saw-whet Owls. She has become known as "The Owl Lady", as a visiting scientist and volunteer with the Participatory Science program, Melissa oversees the Project Owlnet Saw- whet Owl station at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in Edgewater, Maryland. Melissa is also an active volunteer with the Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership's Farmland Raptor Project, helping to monitor and band Barn Owls across the state. |
