The Joshua A. Nickerson Conservation FellowshipThe Joshua A. Nickerson Conservation Fellowship, offered in partnership by the National Park Service and Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore, has provided support to qualified individuals since 1992. At least one fellowship is awarded each year to individuals whose work will contribute to our knowledge of natural and cultural resources within Cape Cod National Seashore, and of the relationships of these resources to the local communities in which they are found. Proposals may be submitted for research in the broad areas of the natural and social sciences. Topics of interest include terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem processes, biotic and abiotic ecosystem components, cultural and natural resource management, and the political and social implications of resource protection and management. The amount of the fellowship varies from year to year. Housing may also be available to fellowship recipients while research is being conducted in the park. Laboratory equipment and field equipment may be available as well. 
How to ApplyThe application period for the 2026 Nickerson Fellowship is now open. Please use the links below to download the application packet, which describes the fellowship requirements in detail, as well as the fellowship coversheet. Applications must be received by April 10, 2026. If you have any questions, please contact Geoff Sanders, Chief of Natural Resource Management and Science.
2025 Nickerson Fellowship RecipientsLena Katherine Beckley - Illustrating restoration dynamics within Cape Cod National Seashore Beckley’s project aims to create a series of descriptive illustrations of flora, fauna, and saltmarsh processes found within the Herring River restoration project. She will focus on documenting assemblages of species found along Duck Harbor, which have been subject to an incursion of saltwater from intermittent over wash events. Lena’s research will come from examining historical accounts of the landscape, federal studies, citizen science studies (i.e. iNaturalist recordings), and personal field-observations. She will create a highly localized collection of works that will provide increased environmental context for the Herring River restoration work to the public, inviting them to engage with this highly dynamic coastal ecosystem. Detailed classical scientific-style pen and ink illustrations of species will encourage species identification and highlight species aided by restoration efforts. Landscape-level schematics and hand-drawn maps will illustrate the dramatic shifts in vegetation and hydrological conditions within the Herring River System from past to present conditions. Products of this project will be offered to be used by park scientists and partners for outreach and communication purposes. Past Recipients & Final Report Topics2024 - Kelly McCusker - A population dynamics and seasonal movements of nesting Atlantic Horseshoe Crabs (Limulus polyphemus) in a partially restored salt marsh lagoon at Cape Cod National Seashore 2022 - Theodore Kuhn - Nitrogen concentrations in aquatic macrophyte and freshwater mussel tissue as an indicator of anthropogenic nitrogen loading to Cape Cod kettle ponds 2021 - Christine Hudak - Detecting Gray Seal Robustness Using Environmental (e)DNA analysis in the southern Gulf of Maine 2020 - Kathrine Sperry - Assessing the impact of salt marsh restoration techniques on Spartina alterniflora genetic variation 2020 - Stephen Tomasetti - From New York to Cape Cod: assessing the differential vulnerability of the Atlantic bay scallop to low-oxygen and high-temperature stress 2017 - Alia Al-Haf, Ph. D. - Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Seagrass Meadows over a Nutrient Gradient in the Cape Cod National Seashore 2016 - Owen C. Nichols - Shellfish and horseshoe crab larval flux at the East Harbor tidal restoration site |
Last updated: March 12, 2026