Melany Aten to serve as NV Conservation Districts Program Manager

Melany Aten to serve as new Program Manager of the Nevada Conservation Districts Program

The Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (NDCNR) is excited to announce that Melany Aten will serve as the new Program Manager for the Nevada Conservation Districts Program (NCDP). As NCDP’s Program Manager, Aten will collaborate with Nevada’s 28 conservation districts and the State Conservation Commission to help advance natural resource conservation and management across the State’s diverse rural and urban landscapes. 

Aten has worked in all areas of natural resource project management and planning for more than 15 years, and has been with the Nevada Conservation Districts Program since 2017. Aten has been serving as Interim Conservation Districts Program Manager since January 2021, and she is an active member of the Nevada section of the Society for Range Management and The Wildlife Society. 

Previously, Aten was the Winnemucca and Western Region Conservation Specialist supporting Conservation District Boards in planning and implementing grant projects to help restore and enhance natural ecosystems in Nevada’s rural communities. She also worked for the USDA Agricultural Research Service as a research assistant focused on Nevada’s critical rangeland issues including invasive species, native seed projects, and Juniper expansion. Additionally, she served as a partner biologist and conservation planner with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service implementing conservation projects on over 75,000 acres, including developing wildlife enhancement strategies and innovative monitoring programs for ranchers and land managers.  

“We are very fortunate to have Melany at the helm of the Nevada Conservation Districts Program,” said Dominique Etchegoyhen, Deputy Director of NDCNR. “Her deep knowledge and collaborative leadership will be instrumental to addressing Nevada’s critical environmental challenges in the years ahead. With the mounting impacts of climate change, Nevada’s Conservation Districts play a vital role in creating healthy, resilient, sustainable ecosystems in every corner of the state. We look forward to working with Melany to foster environmental stewardship on the ground by bringing people together in locally-led conservation.”