Denali Fellowship recipients named

A researcher who has been studying glaciers on Denali for the past few years is just one of the recipients of this year’s Murie Science and Learning Centers Fellowship grants.

The Murie Science and Learning Center has selected 11 researchers this year for fellowships.  Five of the researchers are affiliated with University of Alaska Fairbanks and six are from out of state. They are selected on the significance of their proposed work to park management issues and the scientific merit of their proposal.

Seth Campbell, from the University of Maine, will continue to look at glacier melt on Denali’s glaciers and give a presentation to Denali National Park later with findings.  Other fellowships include work throughout Alaska and don’t necessarily include work inside Denali Park..  Other studies include migratory bird breeding at Cape Krusenstern, study of glacier melt and ice retreat of the Kennicott Glacier, reconstructing and mapping of the exploration done by Stephen Capps early last century in Denali Park as well as studies at Feniak (fen-ee-ack)Lake.

Discover Denali Fellowships are specifically for work done inside Denali.  Permafrost thaw, rising temperatures and effect on forestation, and a study of paleoenvironment near Fang Mountain inside the park are among the studies this summer.

The recipients receive a typical grant around four thousand dollars, although proposals for up to eight thousand dollars are considered.