AUGUSTA — The Maine Conservation Corps recently welcomed Heather Stukas of Lewiston to serve as an environmental educator and AmeriCorps volunteer at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Streams and Bacteria.

The MCC places AmeriCorps volunteers throughout Maine to complete conservation and environmental education projects. Stukas is the daughter of Richard and Susan Stukas, also of Lewiston. She is a 2005 graduate of Lewiston High School and a 2009 graduate of the University of Maine where she studied biology and history.

At the DEP, Stukas is currently reviewing the eight streams she will be sampling and restoring this summer, so that they can be removed from the 303d list of impaired waters. The assessment and compilation of impaired streams is a requirement of the Clean Water Act established by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The streams she is focusing on are located throughout Maine, primarily near the towns of Alna, Augusta, Bradley, Camden, Perry and Skowhegan. For more information about the Maine Conservation Corps, visit www.maine.gov/doc/parks/mcc.