March 26, 2009

The Wyss Foundation has awarded fellowships to two students at the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE) as future leaders in Western land conservation issues.

The 2009 Wyss Scholars, both first-year master's students, are: Nicholas Deyo (Landscape Architecture), who graduated with a degree in ecology from the University of Montana, was a Peace Corps volunteer in Western Samoa and worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Missoula; and Clayton Elliott (Environmental Policy and Planning), who graduated with degrees in environment and economics from the University of Wyoming and has worked for the Wyoming State Legislature.

The students will be recognized at a special reception and dinner Thursday, March 26.

The Wyss Scholars Program for the Conservation of the American West was designed to identify and nurture a generation of leaders on Western land conservation issues. Since its inception, the program took applications only from students at the University of Montana and Yale University. In a desire to broaden its reach, program leaders visited SNRE and met with faculty and students in 2007, and subsequently decided to include the University of Michigan. This is the second year that SNRE students have been eligible for a Wyss Scholars fellowship.

The program is administered by the Wyss Foundation. Fellows are chosen during the first year of their master's program and are selected based on dedication, need and merit.

The program covers up to half of the tuition and expenses of earning a master's degree. Half of the award is made during the master's Program; the remainder is available for Scholars who enter qualifying employment. Scholars are also awarded up to $5,000 to cover their summer research or internship to provide conservation work experience. For the purposes of the Wyss Scholars program, the American West is defined as eastern Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada or Colorado.

About the U-M School of Natural Resources and Environment:
The School of Natural Resources and Environment's overarching objective is to contribute to the protection of the Earth's resources and the achievement of a sustainable society. Through research, teaching, and outreach, faculty, staff and students are devoted to generating knowledge and developing policies, techniques and skills to help practitioners manage and conserve natural and environmental resources to meet the full range of human needs on a sustainable basis.
www.snre.umich.edu

About the Wyss Foundation:
The Wyss Foundation is a private, charitable foundation dedicated to land conservation in the Intermountain West. It supports a variety of conservation and community organizations, as well as scholarships and fellowships to support the next generation of leaders on western land conservation.
http://www.wyssfoundation.org/

About the Ecosystem Management Initiative:
The mission of the Ecosystem Management Initiative is to promote sustainable natural resource management through ecosystem-based teaching, research and outreach through a series of interconnected strategies.
http://www.snre.umich.edu/ecomgt/index.htm