Applications for New Research Fellowship Program in Denali National Park and Preserve Now Available

Date: October 19, 2006
Contact: Kris Fister, 907-683-9583

The National Park Service and the Denali Foundation are seeking applications from individuals wishing to be considered for the 2007 Discover Denali Research Fellowship Program offered through the Murie Science and Learning Center, located in Denali National Park and Preserve. Successful applicants will conduct research about the natural or cultural resources in the Denali National Park and Preserve area. Research fellows will be able to use Murie Science and Learning Center (MSLC) and Denali Foundation facilities for guest researchers as available (e.g. work space, computer access, lecture space, and housing), and will be asked to describe their project in an evening program at the Denali Foundation or MSLC, and to develop an educational product about their research, such as a poster or interactive workbook. The fellowship program is open to undergraduate and graduate students, college and university faculty, state and federal agency scientists, and private-sector researchers. Proposals for research that will help managers make decisions about critical resource issues are particularly encouraged. A typical fellowship grant is expected to be around $3,500; however, proposals for up to $5,000 will be considered.

The deadline for fellowship applications is January 15, 2007 and a decision is expected to be made soon after February 1, 2007. The fieldwork of fellowship recipients must be arranged before September 1, 2007.

In 2006, three Discover Denali fellowships were awarded totaling approximately $10,000. Funded projects gathered research information on the effects of white sweet clover (an exotic plant) on floodplain plant communities; whether a deadly amphibian disease was detected on wood frogs in Denali; and how water quality downstream from Kantishna Hills Mining District has been impacted by the movement of antimony and arsenic from mining activities. With approximately twice as much funding available in 2007 as in 2006, it is projected that twice as many projects can be funded.

This fellowship program is made possible through proceeds from Discover Denali, an MSLC program developed in partnership between the Denali Foundation and the National Park Service. The Discover Denali program helps Royal Celebrity participants learn about Denali’s natural and human history.

The Denali Foundation seeks to connect people to Denali through research, education, and communication. The Murie Science and Learning Center was established in the spirit of the Natural Resource Challenge, a National Park Service initiative aimed at increasing research and education efforts in our national parks. 

An information guide about the Discover Denali Research Fellowship Program and how to apply may be downloaded from www.nps.gov/dena/naturescience/discodena.htm. For more information, please contact Denali’s Research Administrator Lucy Tyrrell at [phone] or e-mail us.

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