Kitzman-Waara Grant

The Fred Waara Trout Unlimited Chapter (FWCTU) supports local undergraduate and graduate student research projects that further coldwater fisheries conservation and management with their Kitzman/Waara Fellowship Grants. Each spring FWCTU selects the top one or two applications from students at Lake Superior State, Michigan Technological, and Northern Michigan Universities. These Fellowship Grants help to fund senior/graduate research projects that run from summer data gathering to research paper and presentation in the spring.

The Kitzman-Waara Fellowship Grant was first funded in the fall of 1989 as a memorial to Cynthia Kitzman, a FWCTU Board Member and wife of Howard Kitzman who was a founding member of the Chapter. In the fall of 1994, a memorial donation to Fred Waara was added to the Fellowship Grant Fund. Fred was a founding member, inspirational leader/motivator, and namesake of the Chapter starting in 1987. The goals of the Fellowship Grant fund are to support academic research, and understand coldwater fisheries, and inspire students to pursue a lifelong commitment to a career in coldwater fisheries conservation and management.

To be eligible for the grant a students must be a full-time graduate or undergraduate student enrolled in a coldwater fisheries curriculum at a Michigan Upper Peninsula university. Additionally, the student must be conducting research or field work that contributes to the understanding of coldwater fisheries management under the TU mission. Grant recipients usually present information on their research during a chapter  monthly “Fishing After Hours” event.

The call for grant applications takes place in   March with awards announced by the end of April or early May. Please direct any questions regarding the grant program to our grant coordinator: Bob Jensen at [email protected].

The 2021-22 Cynthia Kitzman/Fred Waara Fellowship Grant Winners are Dakota Van Fleet and Craig Tangren. Dakota is attending Lake Superior State University and is working on completing her senior project focusing on determining the environmental triggers and possible solutions to mitigate Didymo algae. Craig is a graduate student at Michigan Technological University and is researching restoration of Benthic Habitat in the Salmon Trout River and applications to similar river environs.