On:
In: Fellows, Knauss Fellowship, Theresa Vander Woude

By Eva Ryan, University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship is a nationally competitive opportunity that sends graduate students interested in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources and policy to the historical hub that is Washington, D.C. There, these students are paired with , o r a mentor in a federal agency in order to learn more about the policies surrounding the nation’s natural resources.

For the last but certainly not least of the Knauss fellow spotlight articles, I interviewed Theresa Vander Woude. Vander Woude received two Master of Science degrees in Life Sciences Communication and Environment and Resources at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied the human dimensions of land and water resource issues.

Smiling young woman with long hair

Theresa Vander Woude is one of four 2022 Knauss Fellows from Wisconsin. She is exploring policy in her posting to the Office of Water in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Contributed photo.

“Before I returned to school, I was an environmental communications professional specifically working on lake nutrient pollution issues in the Madison area,” Vander Woude said. She noted that during her time as an environmental communications professional, her bosses urged her to support her decisions with evidence. This led Vander Woude to an increased intake of research, further learning about what makes environmental efforts successful. Eager for more information, Vander Woude found herself back at UW-Madison.

“I had read all this research and I wanted to know how I could figure out answers to the questions that I wanted to know,” she said, “What makes me so passionate about the human dimensions is that they’re so easy to leave out of environmental decisions because they can be hard to study.”

For example, Vander Woude was able to help out with a project with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. This project focused on how lakefront property owners think about the risks of aquatic invasive species as well as the risks of potential treatment approaches, informing communication with stakeholders when new invasive species are discovered. Vander Woude has also collaborated with Wisconsin Sea Grant’s aquatic invasive species outreach specialist, Tim Campbell.

After gaining experience in working on water issues locally and regionally, Vander Woude was intrigued to see and understand how federal policy came into play for larger water issues with local impact. This led her to the Knauss Fellowship. After mainly focusing her studies on the Midwest, Vander Woude was pleased to expand her knowledge of the U.S. through a placement in the Office of Water at the Environmental Protection Agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. “Now I’m able to fit the puzzle pieces together on a broader scale by asking, how do things work elsewhere?” said Vander Woude.

As for her time participating in the Knauss Fellowship, she noted there is a big difference between simply learning about policy versus actually seeing it in action. Vander Woude was able to see several different examples of policy in motion and defined this as one of her biggest takeaways from the fellowship so far. She also touched on the uniqueness of the Knauss Fellowship in that she is able to focus on her own professional development while gaining postgraduate experience, rather than diving straight into the workforce.

While Vander Woude prefers to take life one step at a time and unfold what the future has to offer as she goes, she said, “I do hope to become more comfortable analyzing and commenting on the policy, contributing to discussions, and helping make decisions.”

Vander Woude, among the other fellows, began the Knauss Fellowship on Feb. 1.

The post Meet the Knauss fellows: Theresa Vander Woude first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

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Moira Harrington

On:
In: brook trout, brown trout, Bryan Maitland, Climate change, Fellows, fisheries, fisheries management, high-cap wells, high-capacity wells, hydrology

Dec. 8, 2020

By Jennifer A. Smith

While it’s not news to avid anglers, many Wisconsinites may be unaware that the Badger State has over 13,000 miles of coldwater streams that support many world-class fisheries for brook trout and brown trout.

Bryan Maitland snaps a photo with his black lab, Brook, on a hike in the Snowy Mountains near Laramie, Wyoming. (Submitted photo)

Coldwater streams are flowing waters with maximum summer temperatures under 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Trout living in these streams not only play an important role in ecosystems, but also represent significant economic value to the state. For example, according to research done by retired University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Professor Donna Anderson, trout fishing in Wisconsin’s Driftless region had an economic impact of $1.6 billion in 2015.

But these brook and brown trout face challenges. Two leading ones are climate change (and the resulting shifts in precipitation patterns and flood frequency) and high-capacity wells in the state, as those wells draw groundwater that might otherwise replenish streams.

Here to better understand these challenges—and ultimately help natural resource managers make decisions related to trout populations—is Bryan Maitland, a new Wisconsin Water Science-Policy Fellow whose position is jointly supported by the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute (WRI) and the Bureau of Fisheries Management at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

Maitland, who recently completed his doctorate in ecology at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, began his fellowship Sept. 1. He also holds a master’s degree in conservation biology from the University of Alberta in Canada. The fellowship is a one-year commitment with a possibility for a second year.

During this time, he’ll focus on building computer models that illuminate how long-term changes in hydrology across the state are affecting trout populations. “The flip side of this,” he said, “is the conservation and management side, translating it into some type of decision support tool that decision-makers can use to inform policy in the state.”

As Maitland elaborated, climate change has brought shifting precipitation patterns that have altered Wisconsin’s hydrology. Increased precipitation–and particularly the frequency of intense precipitation events–has triggered floods in rivers and streams statewide. Depending on their timing and severity, these floods can threaten the emergence of trout fry or the survival of juvenile trout.

For example, a big winter flood can “scour out these little trout eggs that are growing under the stream in the substrate” that time of year, said Maitland. As a result, that year class of fish could be wiped out since eggs will not hatch in the spring. “That age-zero year class is really important for long-term trout population dynamics, because if you don’t have a good age-zero cohort, you can have very depressed populations in the stream for multiple years after that,” he noted.

At the same time, some high-capacity wells have the potential to deplete groundwater levels, thereby reducing input into nearby streams.

“The reason we have 13,000 miles of streams is because we have really good groundwater here in Wisconsin and good input into streams, which helps keep these streams colder in the summer and a little warmer in winter,” said Maitland, creating a favorable environment for brook and brown trout.

Maitland shows off his first fish caught in Wisconsin—a common shiner from the Blue River near Dodgeville, where he was fishing for trout. (Photo: Alex Latzka)

Maitland’s modeling work will pull together these two large-scale factors, and their interplay, to see how trout populations have been influenced over the past 26 years. Fish data collected from 1994 to 2020 are being used to inform the computer models to investigate how stream flow, precipitation and water temperature drive trout population numbers. Looking to the future, Maitland and collaborators will examine how increases or decreases in stream flow are likely to affect trout populations, with an eye to guiding a management framework for things like high-capacity well permits.

While economic considerations like the value of Wisconsin’s recreational trout fishery are outside the scope of his work, this effort could set the stage for other researchers to pursue this topic.

Maitland is an angler himself, which explains part of the appeal of this topic for him. Yet another draw is the chance to work with an array of other fellows and with permanent staff at the Wisconsin DNR. His collaborators at the DNR include former WRI fellow Alex Latzka, now a fisheries systems biologist there, and Lori Tate, section chief at the Fisheries Management Bureau and a member of Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Advisory Board. His efforts will intersect with that of other current fellows like Carolyn Voter and Dana Lapides.

“I think science and policy are team sports,” said Maitland. “To join such a big group of researchers and managers working on these big-picture issues in Wisconsin is very exciting.”

The post WRI Fellow looks at what’s ahead for brook and brown trout amid Wisconsin’s changing hydrology first appeared on WRI.

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News Release – WRI

News Release – WRI

https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/wri-fellow-looks-at-whats-ahead-for-brook-and-brown-trout/

Jennifer Smith

On:
In: Bryan Maitland, Dana Lapides, Fellows, high-cap wells, high-capacity wells, hydrology

Dec. 3, 2020

By Jennifer A. Smith

For Dana Lapides, the road to a postdoctoral fellowship has wended through organic farms on two continents. Lapides began her post as a Water Resources Science-Policy Fellow at the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute (WRI) in early November.

In her free time, Lapides enjoys reading, playing music and hiking. She’s pictured here on a hike in Alaska. (Submitted photo)

She completed her Ph.D. at the University of California in May, focusing on surface water hydrology. Yet Lapides’ original intent in heading to the Berkeley campus was to study atmospheric science. After beginning her studies, however, she realized that field was not the right fit for her. She knew something else would suit her better as she sought to take her undergraduate background in math in a more applied direction.

While in California, she began volunteering on a campus-owned community farm, and that led to two summers on a farm in Portugal, where a farmer with a computer science background sparked Lapides’ interest in rainwater harvesting.

“He was really thoughtful about how he did everything,” said Lapides of Guy Miklos, owner of the farm Quinta do Barbeito. This introduction to rainwater harvesting drew Lapides to hydrology and sustainable water management. At last, she’d found her professional calling.

For her WRI fellowship, Lapides’ main charge, as she summarized it, “is to help develop a decision support tool for the screening of applications for high-capacity wells in Wisconsin. I’m thinking a lot about how to conservatively estimate how much stream depletion will be caused by a well, so that we can separate out applications into those that are definitely not going to impact stream ecology, and those that may negatively impact stream ecology and require site-specific review.”

Her work will intersect with another postdoctoral fellow, Bryan Maitland, whose holds a joint appointment between WRI and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Management Program. “I expect to be working a lot with Bryan on identifying ecological thresholds,” Lapides said.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lapides is working remotely from Canada, but she hopes to move to Wisconsin at a later date. Wisconsin’s status as a water-rich state was part of what drew her to the WRI fellowship, she noted.

Lapides hails from Pennsylvania and did her bachelor’s degree there before heading to California for graduate school. “Because I didn’t have a water resources background until my Ph.D., my understanding of hydrology and hydrological systems is mainly shaped by California. Going into my postdoc, I was interested in learning about a different region with really different hydrology—a more water-rich system—to broaden my understanding. Wisconsin, in particular, is a very wet state and has more groundwater interacting with surface water, and that was another component I’m interested in investigating more.”

Lapides expects to spend two years in the fellowship program. As for long-term goals, she’s mulling options between government agency work and academia. For now, she said, “I’m excited to have my work be directly applicable and important to management decisions.”

Lapides may be reached at danalapides@berkeley.edu.

The post New Water Resources Fellow finds her path to hydrology through organic farms first appeared on WRI.

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News Release – WRI

News Release – WRI

https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/new-wri-fellow-finds-path/

Jennifer Smith

On:
In: aquaculture, burbot, Chris Hartleb, Fellows, Greg Fischer, NADF, Pat Blaufuss, Patrick Blaufuss, recirculating aquaculture systems, saugeye, UWSP NADF, walleye

Aquaculture, or fish farming, is a $21 million industry in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Sea Grant has a long history of nurturing the growth of aquaculture through research and public outreach. Coupled with Sea Grant efforts related to Great Lakes commercial fishing, these activities help Wisconsin producers offer consumers a sustainable, domestic alternative to imported fish and seafood.

A fresh chapter in this history is the Wisconsin Sea Grant Keillor Fellowship in Aquaculture, created in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility (NADF), where the position is based. The Bayfield facility is a national leader in aquaculture research.

Dr. Patrick Blaufuss (submitted photo)

The inaugural fellow, Dr. Patrick Blaufuss, began his two-year position in September. He holds a doctorate in animal physiology from the University of Idaho, where his research focused on nutrition and physiology in rainbow trout. He’s also a graduate of North Dakota State University and Southern Illinois University, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in zoology, respectively.

One of his greatest satisfactions, said Blaufuss, is seeing laboratory research provide useful results for fish farmers. “I’m excited to get experience with the aquaculture industry in the Great Lakes region… and to get more experience with commercial producers and the commercial setting, helping them refine what they do. Applying what we do in the lab out in the real world is very important,” said Blaufuss.

One of his top priorities will be analyzing data from past and current NADF projects and preparing manuscripts for publication in scientific journals.

Said Greg Fischer, NADF assistant director and research program manager, “Having Patrick on board as our new Sea Grant fellow will directly impact getting our completed research projects analyzed and published in a timely manner, which allows us to share results with the aquaculture industry and scientific community more rapidly, and to move aquaculture forward with confidence.”

Dr. Chris Hartleb, a UW-Stevens Point professor of fisheries biology and NADF co-director, echoed those thoughts. “Pat’s background and knowledge will assist us with completing past projects, restructuring current projects and expanding our ability to provide assistance to many aquaculturists with new projects.”

Blaufuss’ prior experience includes restoration aquaculture work with burbot in Idaho, where that species was almost extirpated from the Kootenai River watershed due to the operation of a dam that led to increased water temperatures (burbot need very cold water to spawn successfully). The recreational burbot fishery there had been closed since 1992. As part of the restoration work, Blaufuss served as a consultant to the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, which runs a commercial-scale fish hatchery. Employing results from University of Idaho lab research, Blaufuss helped the tribe with its first season of burbot aquaculture. Subsequent years of restocking efforts by the Kootenai Tribe have succeeded in restoring burbot populations to a level that recreational fishing is once again possible for anglers.

Commented Blaufuss, “I came out there [to the tribal hatchery] regularly throughout their first season, since there are multiple steps in burbot culture, and you have to be aware of them.” Burbot are extremely carnivorous, so cannibalization can be an issue, and they also have a longer larval rearing period compared to some other species. “It was very fulfilling to help them through each stage of the culture, and to see how our smaller-scale research data could be applied to a full-size commercial setting.”

Blaufuss kayaking on Lake Erie near Gibraltar, Mich. (submitted photo)

Currently, Blaufuss is writing a manuscript about previous NADF work on commercial diets for larval walleye and saugeye (a walleye-sauger hybrid that also occurs in the wild). “It’s so important that producers know the best diet to feed these larval fish,” he said. (Wisconsin Sea Grant funded this research in its 2018-20 grant cycle; read more about it here.)

He’s also working on a nanobubble oxygenation project, a novel way of introducing oxygen into aquaculture systems. “We’re looking at how it affects fish health, growth and other parameters,” said Blaufuss. The National Sea Grant Office is supporting the nanobubble work; read more about it here.

While much of his work is remote at the moment due to the ongoing pandemic, Blaufuss said that the two-year commitment at NADF gives him a good chunk of time to work with fish species and aquaculture systems that are new to him, as well as boost the facility’s research output.

It’s all part of Sea Grant and NADF’s broader goals to train professionals—from undergraduate students to postdoctoral fellows like Blaufuss—and support sustainable aquaculture that is backed by cutting-edge science. When the public health crisis abates, said Hartleb, Blaufuss will be able to get out to conferences, workshops and farms to enhance connections and share NADF information.

Said Fischer, “Wisconsin Sea Grant has been a great partner in all that we do, and we look forward to the future and continued partnership and cooperation.”

The post Sea Grant aquaculture fellow begins two-year position in Bayfield to boost research capacity first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/sea-grant-aquaculture-fellow/

Jennifer Smith

On:
In: Brookfield, Fellows, Joe Naughton, Knauss Fellow, Knauss Fellowship, SOST

Joe Naughton is broadening his horizons even while working from his Washington, D.C., apartment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Originally from Brookfield, Wisconsin, Naughton is one of 68 fellows in the 2020 class of the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program. The prestigious program places early-career professionals in one-year fellowships working in federal government offices. The program is run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Sea Grant Office.

Joe Naughton at home in Washington with his work-at-home buddy, Suki, his roommate’s dog. (Submitted photo)

After being chosen through a competitive state and national process last July and then receiving his placement in the fall, Naughton began his post in early February 2020. Like many, he shifted from days spent in the office to telework in mid-March.

Naughton serves as the Interagency Ocean Policy Coordinator within NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR). His role is a mix of science and communication, and his primary responsibility is as Executive Secretary of the Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology (SOST).

Explained Naughton, “The SOST is a federal coordinating body that sits under the NSTC (National Science and Technology Council), so it’s under White House purview. It coordinates all federal work related to ocean science and technology. I do a lot of work across these different agencies, coordinating communication, working on various reports, and then I communicate all of this correspondence up to the co-chairs of this Subcommittee. The co-chairs are from NOAA, the National Science Foundation and the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and I serve as the SOST liaison to these agencies. But also, within the SOST, there are these technical working groups, which I really enjoy, since it’s a little more science-focused.”

With a background in water resources engineering from his studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Marquette University—where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, respectively—Naughton is finding that the fellowship is pushing him in some new directions. While he previously focused on hydrology and urban water issues, now he’s learning more about ocean concerns. “That’s a whole new world for me,” he said.

He’s also found unexpected benefits on the communication side: “One really great thing is I’ve worked a lot on my writing, which I didn’t foresee initially. I’ve been getting my hands on a lot of reports, and that’s a huge change.”

Like many professionals these days, Naughton spends a good chunk of his days interacting with his colleagues on a screen. “I have a lot of video calls, whether it’s hopping on these technical working groups or having quick tag-ups with NOAA, NSF or whatever other agency it may be. A lot of it is expressing concerns; these agencies have their missions, and they want that vocalized in whatever federal, coordinated ocean science work is being done.”

Naughton is also gaining exposure to some NOAA-specific efforts, such as the Ambassadors Initiative, in which someone like a fellow or an administrator goes to present in a school or other setting. Naughton helps assemble collections of materials for the ambassador’s visit.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has put a damper on some of the travel, conference and professional development aspects of the Knauss Fellowship experience, Naughton is hopeful that some of those things will be possible towards the latter part of his one-year commitment.

In the meantime, he said, he’s found a supportive climate in his contacts with Wisconsin Sea Grant, the National Sea Grant Office and the other members of his Knauss class, who have been connecting virtually, whether to discuss each other’s research or simply have coffee.

Naughton is also enjoying the company of his roommate’s new puppy, a rescued Lab/beagle mix named Suki. While the pet adoption was in motion before the pandemic hit, it’s been a silver lining to be home with the new pup and help her get acclimated, or simply take a walk at lunchtime and get some fresh air.

Despite this highly unusual Knauss Fellowship year, Naughton and others in his cohort are making the most of it. Said Naughton, “The amount I’m able to touch in this fellowship is really great, and something I didn’t expect.” And despite the adjustments necessitated by the pandemic, said Naughton, “I’m definitely still fortunate to have this experience.”

Original Article

News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/wisconsins-knauss-fellow-broadens-horizons/

Jennifer Smith

On:
In: Bridget Faust, Coastal States Organization, CSO, Fellows, OCM

Guest post by Bridget Faust, 2018-19 Wisconsin Sea Grant Fellow

Bridget Faust

I arrived at the Hall of the States first thing in the morning on April 2, 2018. As I walked up to the building, I glimpsed the top of the Capitol dome and couldn’t help but smile. I thought to myself, “I live here now. I work here now.”

It was my first day at the Coastal States Organization (CSO), and I was nervous. I quickly signed myself into the building, made my way up to the sixth floor, took a deep breath and walked into the office where I’d be spending about half my time for the next 15 months. The space was small. Three offices and three cubicles fit snugly inside. The walls were aquarium blue.

Days later, I repeated this exercise when I went to NOAA’s Silver Spring office for the first time. The sound of waves breaking in the wave pool that stands outside of SSMC4 told me that I was in the right place.

And so it began. After five years of working towards this fellowship opportunity, I was in D.C. serving as a Wisconsin Sea Grant Fellow in a joint position with NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management (OCM) and CSO.

During my time in D.C., I worked on a variety of things that OCM and CSO work on together and helped them to improve their coordination. This included supporting implementation of the National Coastal Zone Management Program Strategic Plan by coordinating the Digital Coast Resource for Coastal Managers webinar series, helping to run CSO’s Coastal Nonpoint Work Group, supporting the administration of the Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program, and serving on the project team for an economic assessment scoping study of the National CZM Program.

Time passed more quickly than I could have imagined, and along the way, I learned some major lessons that I will carry with me for the rest of my career. I have summarized these lessons below for any recent graduate or graduate student who is considering applying to a fellowship program.

At the Restoring America’s Estuaries / Coastal States Organization summit in Long Beach, California.

Say yes to new and challenging opportunities.

During my time as a fellow, I was asked to take the lead on a number of tasks that pushed me outside of my comfort zone. For example, having never worked in the nonpoint source pollution realm, facilitating calls on the Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program seemed like a daunting task. After all, I wasn’t an expert. How could I help states that have so much more experience? Working with the work group ended up being one of the most rewarding experiences of my fellowship, and I am so glad I ended up saying yes to the opportunity. Fellowships provide recent graduates with a rare chance to try new things! I would encourage future fellows to say yes when they are asked to try something new to benefit fully from this experience.

Know what you want to get out of your fellowship before you start.

Before I even started my fellowship, I outlined learning objectives and experiences that I wanted to gain with my career goals in mind. While I didn’t end up accomplishing all of them, knowing what I wanted to get out of my fellowship before I started allowed me to tailor my experience so it not only benefited OCM and CSO, but also allowed me to gain the skills that I needed to build my resume.

Ask questions, even if they seem foolish.

Exploring D.C. with my fiance, Josh.

This probably goes without saying, but the old adage is true: there’s no such thing as a stupid question. Almost a year into my fellowship, I made the mistake of assuming that staff didn’t need to register for a meeting that we were helping to plan. That’s how it had been at my last job, so why wouldn’t it be the same here, right? Wrong. I did need to register and by the time I asked the question, the meeting was just weeks away. Everything worked out in the end, but the stress of the situation could have been avoided had I just asked instead of making an assumption.

I had a chance to see the Block Island Wind Farm up close during a site visit for CSO’s fall meeting in Providence, Rhode Island.

The Wisconsin Sea Grant Fellowship was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gain practical experience applying the skills I’d learned as a graduate student at UW-Madison.

It also helped to prepare me for the job I currently have today. Since July 2019, I have been working for CSS, a private sector firm in the environmental services industry, as a coastal management specialist on contract to NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management. I live and work from the Twin Cities area, which is home for me.

Aside from being in a different location, my day-to-day tasks have not changed significantly since my fellowship ended. I am still supporting National CZM Strategic Plan implementation and Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program administration. I am part of the economic assessment project team, and I still work closely with my former colleagues at CSO. The only major difference is that I no longer formally wear a CSO “hat.”

In sum, I’d highly recommend one of Sea Grant’s many fellowship programs to current graduate or Ph.D. students who are looking for practical experience outside of academia!

 

Photo credits: All photos in story submitted by Bridget Faust.

Original Article

Blog – Wisconsin Sea Grant

Blog – Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/lessons-learned-as-a-sea-grant-fellow/

Jennifer Smith