National Park Service George Melendez Wright Climate Change Fellowship

The School of Natural Resources & the Environment (SNRE) at The University of Arizona has the honor of administering the pilot George Melendez Wright Climate Change Fellowship Program for 2010. The goal of the Climate Change Fellowship Program mirrors that of SNRE - to support new and innovative research on impacts of climate change on protected areas and to increase the use of scientific knowledge toward resource management.

CRITERIA
More than 100 graduate students from across the country submitted proposals for review. Twenty-two proposals were singled out for funding based on relevance, technical soundness, feasibility, and clarity and completeness of the proposal. Along with research stipends, travel funding will be available for awardees to attend and  present their research findings at the George Wright Society Biennial Conference on Parks, Protected Areas, and Cultural Sites on March 14 - 18, 2011 in New Orleans, LA.

AWARD RECIPIENTS
A list of award recipients, project titles, and research sites is attached (.pdf).(files/shared/GMWawards.pdf)

The 22 Wright Fellows will study subjects that range from changes in wetland ecosystems in Yukon Flats Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to climate stress in American Pika in several western national parks.

AWARD SPONSORSHIP
The fellowship program is sponsored by the National Park Service (Dr. Leigh Welling, NPS  Climate Change Response Program Manager; and Lisa Norby, Acting NPS Climate Change Youth Initiative Coordinator) and The University of Arizona, School  of Natural Resources & the Environment (Dr. Lisa Graumlich, now inaugural Dean of the College of the Environment, University of Washington; and Dr. Gregg Garfin, Assistant Professor, SNRE).

BACKGROUND
Named in honor of an early 20^th century National Park Service biologist, the George Melendez Wright Climate Change Fellowship recognizes and memorialized Wright’s commitment to science-based decision-making and embraces his philosophy of protected area management that promotes ecosystem health and resilience. The National Park Service also sponsored a George Melendez Wright Internship Program (http://www.nature.nps.gov/climatechange/internshipsresearch.cfm ) to assist national park managers and explore the effects of climate change.

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