Scholarships and Awards

WALPA Undergraduate and Graduate Student Scholarships

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Applications are due May 1, 2024!

In 2024, the Washington Lakes Protection Association is offering three student scholarships.

The Nancy Weller Memorial Scholarship for a Ph.D. graduate student for $1,250.
The Dave Lamb Memorial Scholarship for a M.Sc. graduate student for $1,000.
The WALPA scholarship to an undergraduate student for $500.

All three scholarships will also provide additional funds to cover registration and two nights’ accommodation for each recipient at the annual meeting.

Student scholarships will be awarded to further our understanding of the limnology, hydrology, ecology, management, and restoration of lakes in Washington and Idaho. Applicants must be part- or full-time undergraduate or graduate students at an accredited college or university in Washington or Idaho. Recipients shall use scholarship funds to cover expenses directly related to their research. Students are expected to attend the annual conference to present their research findings and interact with the WALPA membership.

All scholarship applications will be reviewed by the Scholarship Committee, composed of individuals from academia, industry, and government. Committee members who have a personal or institutional affiliation with the applicant will not judge applicants. Student scholarship winners will be selected based on the quality of their research topic, its significance to lake science as described above, its relevance to the applicant’s interests and career goals, and for following the application directions.

How to Apply

Student applicants must provide the following items:

Statement of research interests and career goals (maximum of 3 pages). The statement must explain why the proposed research is important to the field of limnology and/or lake management and include an itemized budget and budget justification that explains the intended use of the scholarship funds.
A 1-2 page resume.
Recent transcripts of all college/university course work (official copies not required).
A letter of recommendation from the student’s academic advisor, should be sent as a PDF file directly to the committee chair.

All applicants should send materials in a single Adobe Acrobat PDF file clearly identified by the applicant’s last name to Shannon Brattebo, chair of the Scholarship Committee, at shannon.brattebo@tetratech.com. Applications are due by 11:59 PM on May 1, 2024. The Scholarship Committee will contact applicants in late May to let them know their application’s status.

Previous Scholarship Recipients

2023 WALPA Scholarship Award Winners

Recipient: Nicole Doran, University of Washington
Award: $1000 Dave Lamb Memorial Scholarship (Masters Student)
Project: Preservation effects on stable isotope signatures of sixteen native and invasive freshwater fishes from lakes in the Pacific Northwest

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Recipient: Madison Schumacher, University of Idaho
Award: $1000 Dave Lamb Memorial Scholarship (Masters Student)
Project: Quantify the resuspension of total sediments, nutrients and metals in the nearshore zone of Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho as a result of disturbances from natural waves and boat-generated wakes. Study sites also include the Spokane River

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Recipient: Garret Homer, University of Idaho
Award: $500 Undergraduate Scholarship
Project: Effects of wake boats on the resuspension of sediment and associated nutrients in Payette Lake in central Idaho

2022 WALPA Scholarship Award Winners

Recipient: Samantha Fung, PhD, University of Washington, Seattle
Award: $1250 Nancy Weller Memorial Scholarship (Ph.D. Student)
Project: Short-term Patterns of Summer Arsenic Cycling in a Temperate, Polymictic Lake.

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Recipient: Tessa Code, M.S., University of Washington, Seattle
Award: $1000 Dave Lamb Memorial Scholarship (Masters Student)
Project: Quantifying the effect of artificial light at night on the predation of juvenile sockeye and pelagic prey fish in an urbanized lake.

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Recipient: Heaven Denham and Hailey Germeau, University of Washington, Tacoma
Award: $500 Undergraduate Scholarship
Project: Impact of Dry Deposition of Nutirent Inputs to Spirit Lake, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument (Dunham) and Quantifying the Impacts of New Zealand Mudsnail on the Ecology of Spirit Lake, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument (Germeau).

2021 WALPA Scholarship Award Winners

Recipient: Alexander Reyes, PhD, Washington State University, Vancouver
Award: $1250 Nancy Weller Memorial Scholarship (Ph.D. Student)
Project: Food web ecology study for an alkaline lake hosting Lahontan cutthroat trout in Omak, WA.

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Recipient: Rachel Fricke, M.S., University of Washington, Seattle
Award: $1000 Dave Lamb Memorial Scholarship (Masters Student)
Project: Employing mobile data to assess human interactions with lakes.

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Recipient: Meg McCann, University of Washington, Tacoma
Award: $500 Undergraduate Scholarship
Project: Mapping the spread and ecological impacts of invasive New Zealand Mudsnails in Spirit Lake.

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2021 Special Group Award

Recipient: Noah Bos, Allison Simmons and Alexandra Tyler, Walla Walla University
Award: WALPA made a special award in recognition of the quality of their proposal and the team assembled to the do the research. Each will receive a $167 award.
Project: Research study on Corbicula fluminea, an invasive clam, in Lake Ozette.

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2020 WALPA Scholarship Award Winners

Recipient: Katherine Swensen, PhD, Washington State University Vancouver
Award: $1250 Nancy Weller Memorial Scholarship (Ph.D. Student)
Project: Impacts of Wildfire Reburn Events on Water Storage and Transport in the Washington Cascades

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Recipient: Salvador Robb-Chavez, M.S., Washington State University Vancouver
Award: $1000 Dave Lamb Memorial Scholarship (Masters Student)
Project: Broadscale distribution, abundance, and habitat association of the Asian clam Corbicula fluminea in the lower Columbia River, USA

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Recipient: Hana Haakenstad, B.S, University of Idaho
Award: $500 Undergraduate Scholarship
Project: Seasonal spatial distribution of zooplankton in Willow Creek Reservoir in relation to hypolimnetic anoxia.

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2019 WALPA Scholarship Award Winners

Recipient: Sarah H. Burnet, PhD, Natural Resources, Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences, University of Idaho
Award: $1250 Nancy Weller Memorial Scholarship (Ph.D. Student)
Project: Using whole-lake modeling to determine spatial relationships between sediment particle size, nutrient concentrations, wind-driven physical mixing, and algal blooms to identify ‘hot’ spots for in-lake treatment of internal nutrient loading, Willow Creek Reservoir (WCR), OR.

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Recipient: Kathryn E. Sweeney, M.S. Environmental Science, Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, Washington State University
Award: $1000 Dave Lamb Memorial Scholarship (Masters Student)
Project: Grazing impacts of rotifer zooplankton in a temperate, seasonally cyanobacteria dominated freshwater lake.

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Recipient: Beth Hoots, B.S, Ecology and Conservation Biology, University of Idaho
Award: $500 Undergraduate Scholarship
Project: Examining arsenic transfer from water to periphyton and grazers in contaminated urban lakes.

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2018 WALPA Scholarship Award Winners

Recipient: Sofia D’Ambrosio, Washington State University Vancouver
Award: $1250 Nancy Weller Memorial Scholarship (Ph.D. Student)
Project: Exploring a novel potential link between algae blooms and methane emissions in lakes.

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Recipient: Rebekah Stiling, University of Washington Seattle
Award: $1000 Dave Lamb Memorial Scholarship (Masters Student)
Project: Contribution of littoral-benthic primary production to high elevation lake food webs.

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Recipient: Angelica Lucchetto, University of Washington Bothell
Award: $500 Undergraduate Scholarship
Project: Algal contributions to nitrogen flow in Spirit Lake.

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2017 WALPA Scholarship Award Winners

Recipient: Timothy Taylor, Washington State University
Award: $1250 Nancy Weller Memorial Scholarship (Ph.D. Student)
Project: Investigating non-lethal age estimation in a lentic brook trout population.

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Recipient: Michael Lawlor, Western Washington University
Award: $1000 Dave Lamb Memorial Scholarship (Masters Student)
Project: The use of algae as a biomonitoring tool in high-elevation lakes of the North Cascades.

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Recipient: Anna Shampain, University of Puget Sound
Award: $500 Undergraduate Scholarship
Project: The effect of beaver dams on macroinvertebrate communities.

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2016 WALPA Scholarship Award Winners

Recipient: Vincent Ouellet Jobin, University of Washington
Award: $1250 Nancy Weller Memorial Scholarship
Project: Patterns, drivers and ecological implications of water-level fluctuations in lakes of Western Washington.

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Recipient: Zach Klein, University of Idaho
Award: $1000 Dave Lamb Memorial Scholarship
Project: Management of kokanee in Idaho lakes: kokanee population dynamics, Mysis-kokanee interactions, and sampling techniques.

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Recipient: Randi Bowman, Lewis-Clark State College
Award: $500 Undergraduate Scholarship
Project: Macroinvertebrates as bioindicators of stream health in the Snake River drainage.

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2015 WALPA Scholarship Award Winners

Recipient: Andrew Child, Washington State University
Award: $1000 Nancy Weller Memorial Scholarship
Project: Paleolimnological analysis of heavy metal contamination.

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Recipient: Michelle Bahnick, Western Washington University
Award: $1000 Dave Lamb Memorial Scholarship
Project: Comparing the Stream Function Assessment Methodology (SFAM) in Water Resource Inventory Area 8 (WRIA 8) on public lands to recent Status and Trends Monitoring data.

2014 WALPA Scholarship Award Winners

Recipient: Megan Skinner, Washington State University
Award: $1000 Nancy Weller Memorial Scholarship
Project: Use of stable isotope analysis (SIA) to determine the influence of hypolimnetic oxygenation (HO) on fish diet.

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Recipient: Mark Sorel, University of Washington
Award: $1000 Dave Lamb Memorial Scholarship
Project: Reintroduction of anadromous salmonids in the Lewis River reservoirs.

2013 WALPA Scholarship Award Winners

Recipient: Ben Cross
Award: $1000 Nancy Weller Memorial Scholarship
Project: Documenting the influence of lake hypolimnetic oxygenation on a cold water fishery ecosystem

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Recipient: Ricardo Sanchez-Murillo
Award: $1000 Dave Lamb Memorial Scholarship
Project: Understanding control and contributions to base flow in streams of eastern Washington and northern Idaho using stable isotopes

2012 WALPA Scholarship Award Winners

Recipient: KathiJo Jankowski, University of Washington
Award: $1000 Nancy Weller Memorial Scholarship
Project: Stable isotope and genetic tools to link changes in nutrient sources and cycling along with changes in associated bacterial communities in more than 20 Washington lakes

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Recipient: Adam Gebauer, Eastern Washington University
Award: $750
Project: Research to determine the effects of reed canary grass on the hydrologic regime of low order streams in Washington by comparing systems dominated by reed canary grass and those with other riparian plants

2011 WALPA Scholarship Award Winners

Recipient: Ellen Preece, Washington State University
Award: $1000 Nancy Weller Memorial Scholarship
Project: Accumulation of cyanobacteria toxins in species of fish consumed by humans.

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Recipient: Chelsie Strowbridge, University of Washington Tacoma
Award: $750
Project: Model nutrient sources and sinks for Spirit Lake at Mount St. Helens National Monument.

2010 WALPA Scholarship Award Winners

Recipient: Bo Li of the University of Washington
Award: $1000 Nancy Weller Memorial Scholarship
Project: The impact of advanced nutrient removal on phosphorus bioavailability.

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Recipient: Carmen Welch of Western Washington University
Award: $750
Project: The diet of the recently introduced redside shiners (Richardsonius balteatus) in Ross Lake, North Cascades National Park.

2009 WALPA Scholarship Award Winners

Recipient: Mary Sutton Carruthers of Western Washington University
Award: $1000 Nancy Weller Memorial Scholarship
Project: MarySutton Carruthers is currently working on her MS in Environmental Science at Western Washington University. Her thesis work is focused on examining the viability of using salmon analogs (dried fish pellets) as a replacement for salmon carcasses in streams where carcasses cannot be used due to insufficient supply or concerns over pathogens. Overall, this research compares nutrient movement and assimilation by periphyton, bryophytes, and leaf pack communities in streams treated with carcasses and with analogs.

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Recipient: Timothy Caldwell of the University of Idaho
Award: $750
Project: Timothy Caldwell is currently pursuing his MS of Fisheries Resources at the University of Idaho. His current research is focused on examining the role of the non-native opossum shrimp, Mysis relicta, in the nutrient dynamics of Lake Pend Oreille. The ultimate goal will be to make recommendations that will contribute to the restoration of the lake ecosystem.

2008 WALPA Scholarship Award Winners

Recipient: Eric Larson of the University of Washington
Award: $1000 Nancy Weller Memorial Scholarship
Project: Invasive benthic invertebrates in WA lakes: Distribution, landscape scale habitat associations, and potential range expansion.

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Recipient: Karoline Lambert of the University of Idaho
Award: $750
Project: Development of a reliable, cheap, and comparatively rapid allelic discrimination assay to identify Eurasian and hybrid watermilfoil.

2007 WALPA Scholarship Award Winners

Recipient: Kelley Turner of Huxley College of the Environment at Western Washington University
Award: $750 Nancy Weller Memorial Scholarship
Project: Differences in aquatic insect communities between glacial and non glacial lake outlets in the North Cascades

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Recipient: Mel Johnson of the University of Idaho
Award: $500
Project: Protecting corridor function; the role and influence of zoning and stakeholder education

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Recipient: Brittany Wilmot of Huxley College of the Environment at Western Washington University
Award: $500
Project: Elwha Dam removal project in Port Angeles; studying the lake, river and wildlife of the Elwha River Watershed

2006 WALPA Scholarship Award Winners

Recipient: Karl Mueller of Western Washington University
Award: $750 Nancy Weller Memorial Scholarship
Project: Shelter competition between native signal crayfish and non-native red swamp crayfish

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Recipient: Brooks Miner of the University of Washington
Award: $500
Project: Study of the evolution of phenotypic plasticity in nature

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Recipient: Elizabeth Seminet-Reneau of the University of Idaho
Award: $500
Project: Lakewide impacts of residential shoreline development on large deep lakes

2005 WALPA Scholarship Award Winners

Recipient: Joe Ravet of the University of Washington
Award: $500 Nancy Weller Memorial Scholarship
Project: Biochemical and Elemental Food Quality Limitations in Aquatic Food Webs

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Recipient: Hans Berge of the University of Washington
Award: $250
Project: Limnological Influences on Fish Distribution and Implications for Trophic Interactions in Lake Sammamish, Washington

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Recipient: Sarah Spotts of the University of Washington
Award: $250
Project: Research on Lake Chaplain drinking water filter clogging

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Recipient: Jenny Newell of the University of Washington
Award: $250
Project: Behavioral Patterns on Sockeye Salmon in Lake Washington

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Recipient: Chris Goodman of Clover Park Technical College
Award: $250
Project: South Prairie Creek TMDL Process

2004 WALPA Scholarship Award Winners

Recipient: Tessa Francis of the University of Washington
Award: $500
Project: Interface dynamics between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems

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Recipient: Ann Richter of Washington State University
Award: $250
Project: Effectiveness of alum microfloc using enclosures at Newman Lake

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Recipient: David Christensen of Washington State University
Award: $500
Project: Interaction between fisheries management and water quality

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Recipient: Rebecca Dugopolski of the University of Washington
Award: $250
Project: Impacts of alum treatment on water quality of Green Lake