Something fishy about these LSSU students

NEWS RELEASE

LAKE SUPERIOR STATE UNIVERSITY

************************ LSSU students garner regional fisheries award

SAULT STE. MARIE, Michigan – Four Lake Superior State University students were among only 25 people from all over the United States who received special honors during the 2006 Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference in Omaha, Nebraska, December 3 to 6.

Michigan natives Bryan Engelbert of Bruce Crossing, Bill Keiper of Pickford, Kandi Schnurer of Sault Sainte Marie; and Eric G.W. Smith of Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario, (all of whom are pictured, see photo caption below) received the Janice Fenske Memorial Award for Outstanding Students. The award is a tribute to a Michigan Department of Natural Resources' fisheries biologist who died in 2005.

The four were selected based on academic ability and scholarly achievements.

They displayed what a selection committee with the American Fisheries Society considers to be an enthusiasm to protect fisheries and wildlife resources through management activities, as well as a motivation to teach others.

They attended an exclusive breakfast that provided an opportunity to network with top professionals from state and federal agencies, as well as academia.

This was the second Fenske Award for Schnurer, who received the citation is 2005.

Schnurer is finishing a senior thesis project that studied what impact activities at the Michigan National Guard camp in Grayling has on wetland ecosystems that drain into a nearby lake.

So far, her results suggest that Camp Grayling does not have a negative impact on the ecosystems she evaluated.

She will be graduating in December 2007 with a degree in fisheries and wildlife management.

Keiper is graduating in December with a degree in fisheries and wildlife management.

His senior thesis project looked at whether artificial nests are a good approach to helping waterfowl flourish in the Eastern Upper Peninsula.

Of the 75 artificial nests he monitored over a three-year span, only one was occupied by a duck.

His conclusion, at least within the scope of his study, is that this nesting approach may not be a viable alternative.

Keiper and Schnurer presented their senior research during a symposium held on campus Dec. 1-2.

Engelbert and Smith, also fisheries and wildlife management majors, are just beginning their thesis research.

Engelbert is comparing ageing techniques for Lake Whitefish, while Smith is conducting a mammal survey on the nature conservancy property in Luce County, about an hour west of the Sault.

Like Schnurer and Keiper, they will have opportunities to share their results at professional conferences that LSSU students and faculty attend throughout the year.

Senior research symposiums are also held every fall and spring for the public and campus community.

Photo Caption:

Outstanding in their field - four fisheries science students at Lake Superior State University recently received the Janice Fenske Memorial Award for Outstanding Students during the 2006 Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference held in Omaha, Nebraska.

From left to right are Bryan Engelbert of Bruce Crossing, Michigan; Eric G.W. Smith of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario; Kandi Schnurer of Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan; and Bill Keiper of Pickford.

The national award is tribute to a Michigan Department of Natural Resources' fisheries biologist who died in 2005.

Photo by John Shibley.

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