Alyson Merlin

Staff Attorney

Alyson drives litigation and submits comments to protect public lands and pursues environmental justice in coordination with community partners, especially in Western North Carolina. Based in Asheville, she pursues renaming opportunities for geographic features and landmarks to help ensure that all cultures and backgrounds are represented and celebrated in our shared spaces. Alyson also works to connect federal grant funding to environmental justice organizations across the Southeast. To increase government accountability and transparency, she leads SELC’s Freedom of Information Act work focused on changes within the current federal administration.

“I am most proud of my work on the Ela Dam in Swain County,” she said. “For nearly 100 years, the Ela Dam has impeded the free flow of the Oconaluftee River, degrading water quality and blocking migration of aquatic animals, including culturally important fish species like the sicklefin redhorse, known as Ugiidatli in Cherokee. We are currently working together with partners at the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, federal and state agencies, and local conservation groups to facilitate the dam’s removal after these many long years.”

While she grew up outside of Atlanta, Asheville is very familiar territory from a lifetime of childhood trips to the nearby Pisgah National Forest.

“I work for SELC because of its place-based focus. I was born and raised in the South and its people and places matter deeply to me. Every day I come to work and know that I am doing my part to make the region I grew up in a happier, healthier, and more inclusive place to live.”

• J.D., Columbia Law School, Alfred S. Forsyth Prize
• B.S., University of Georgia, summa cum laude
• Fellow, National Wildlife Federation