Two Northern Arizona University graduate students are getting a boost that will help them launch their professional careers as leaders in land conservation.<\/p>\n
Collin Haffey<\/b> and Audrey Kruse<\/b> were named\u00a0Wyss Scholars<\/b><\/a>\u00a0by the Wyss Foundation, which provides scholarships for graduate students who are pursuing careers in land conservation and management in the U.S. intermountain West.<\/p>\n The students will receive partial tuition payments while they complete their master\u2019s degrees in environmental sciences and policy at NAU and a $5,000 summer stipend. Haffey and Kruse also are eligible for support after graduation in the form of post-graduation payments for up to three years while they are launching their careers.<\/p>\n The scholarships are valued at more than $30,000 apiece and are awarded to select students committed to conservation at five universities across the nation.<\/p>\n For his summer internship, Haffey worked with the Bandelier National Monument and the U.S. Geologic Survey to complete the field study portion of his thesis research. He traveled to forests in Arizona and New Mexico, examining successional patterns following stand-replacing fires. After his summer of data collection and working with federal agency partners, Haffey will move on to the data analysis and modeling phase of his study.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the climate warms and decades of fire suppression contribute to more severe fires, we are grappling with wide-ranging impacts to the forests in our region,\u201d Haffey said. \u201cHaving support from the Wyss Foundation enables me to focus on contributing to a better understanding of these forces and how they affect our western landscapes.\u201d<\/p>\n Kruse spent her summer studying the tamarisk leaf beetle and how its defoliation of invasive tamarisk trees along the San Juan River is impacting native insect communities.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Wyss Foundation has a reputation for doing meaningful conservation work in the West, and it\u2019s exciting to be inducted into this network of accomplished conservation professionals,\u201d Kruse said.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce again the Wyss Foundation has chosen to support very impressive NAU master\u2019s students as they complete their studies and begin careers protecting the western landscapes that we cherish,\u201d said Tom Sisk<\/b>, Olajos-Goslow chair of environmental science and policy and director of the Landscape Conservation Initiative at NAU. \u201cCollin and Audrey already have track records as driven students and stellar conservationists. We can\u2019t wait to see what they\u2019ll accomplish next.\u201d<\/p>\n For information about the Wyss Scholars Program at NAU, contact Cari.Kimball@nau.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"