Aquatic ecology graduate students at the University of Wyoming are eligible to receive $50,000 dollars worth of scholarships as a result of an annual fly fishing competition.
Jackson Hole One Fly is an annual fly fishing event hosted every September in Jackson, Wyoming. The event allows for 40 teams to come together and compete in a two day fly fishing competition.
Each team is given a single fly and is scored based upon the number and length of trout caught.
The money raised from this event helps fund aquatic life conservation. These funds also go towards creating grants that are given to UW graduate students seeking careers in aquatic ecology.
This July, the One Fly board approved an additional $50,000 dollars to go towards graduate ecology students in Wyoming.
The scholarship began in 2007 and has since awarded twenty-one grants ranging from $500 to $6000. This money has been used to fund graduate field research that has furthered the understanding of aquatic ecology.
The scholarship originated from Dennis Andersen and his desire to give financial aid to students looking to pursue fisheries sciences.
Andersen’s death resulted in a donation of $58,000 to the University of Wyoming. The state of Wyoming matched this donation dollar for dollar. Since then, the fund continues to generate money for graduate student research.
The selection process for these grants is competitive. Students are required to submit a detailed outline discussing how they plan to use the money to further aquatic research. Faculty members from the zoology and physiology department select the best research proposals.
The event this year will take place September 8th through the 11th near Jackson, Wyoming.
