About Me

I’m Matthew Colston. I am an ecosystem scientist focused on natural resource management, sustainability, and watershed planning. I graduated from Oregon State University with a Masters of Natural Resources in Spring of 2022. In this graduate program my coursework was focused on sustainable natural resource management and stakeholder management (facilitation and conflict resolution) including public policy tools. I also focused on watershed resources management including forestry, water quality, and fisheries.

I have worked at both the local and state level of government as an environmental scientist in Washington State. At the county level, I as an environmental scientist that monitored surface water quality and did wildlife and natural resource assessments. At the state level, I work as a grant manager for salmon recovery and habitat recovery projects. In both roles, I have seen the importance of citizen led science, watershed level restoration planning, and policy that center environmental justice and equity.

I personally believe that science ultimately should serve as a tool for people to make life better. We know that ecosystem and human health are always intertwined. Disadvantaged communities often find themselves not having access to research and technical knowledge. My hope is to provide services like natural resource planning, grant writing, and monitoring for marginalized communities to better ecosystem and human health.