In 2024, we kicked off a new Student Research Fellowship program and awarded four fellowships to some talented researchers working with PI’s across the CW CESU network.  We would like to introduce you to the three talented recipients of the 2025 NPS CW CESU Student Research Fellowships.

Daria Maslyukova

Daria Maslyukova is a Ph.D. candidate in Forestry at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.  She was nominated by Dr. Adam Coates, who is assessing forest composition and restoration at Manassas National Battlefield Park (MANA).  In the absence of natural fire regimes, eastern woodland tree canopies can close, which can contribute to a decline in native grasses and other herbaceous flowering plants, while at the same time promoting shade tolerant, invasive exotic plants and shrubs.  In this project, Coates and Maslyukova are using forestry management practices, like forest thinning and prescribed burning to restore open woodland habitats at MANA.  Restoring to a more natural woodland ecosystem with snags, down, and dead wood, will improve valuable wildlife habitat.  The results from this pilot project will help inform forest management at other park units, too.

The fellowship will allow Daria to expand her sampling locations and will also support her participation in the Association for Fire Ecology Conference later in 2025, where she will present her preliminary results.  Presenting research at professional conferences is a key professional development opportunity for all scientists and will give Daria the opportunity to share her findings, foster collaboration, and help build professional networks.  Daria was recognized as an undergraduate as a fellow by the USGS National Climate Adaptation Science Center and received the 2022 George Mason University School of Integrative Studies Outstanding Graduate award.

Zoie McMillian

Zoie McMillian is a turtle ecologist working toward her Ph.D. in Fish and Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with Dr. Elizabeth Hunter.  Several turtle species in the eastern U.S. are facing threats from habitat alteration and loss, illegal trade, predation, and changes in water quality. Hunter and McMillian are studying turtle populations at several eastern national parks, focusing on the wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta), spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), and eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) to determine their current status and to help inform population management at national parks.  Their work will include monitoring for disease and taking DNA samples for pathogen detection and population genetic analysis.  The fellowship will help further support Zoie’s research.  She expects to have a draft manuscript ready for submission to a scientific journal by the end of the fellowship.  Publishing research in scientific journals is also an important professional activity for scientists.

Zoie has also been awarded the 2024-25 Global Change Fellowship in recognition of her academic excellence and contributions to global change education and the 2024 Burd S. McGinnes Fellowship in recognition of graduate-level scholarship from Virginia Tech.  She has also received a number of awards for her presentations at scientific conferences.

Jonathan Obermaier

The third fellowship recipient for 2025, Jonathan “Jack” Obermaier, is working toward his B.S. in Biology with a concentration in Ecology, Evolution & Conservation at Towson University.  He was nominated by Dr. Vanessa Beauchamp, who is studying rare and threatened plant populations at Antietam National Battlefield (ANTI).  This study is helping to establish critical baseline data to help the park effectively manage habitat locally and at nearby NPS units while also protecting and preserving rare and threatened plants.  Jonathan has a passion for botany and has been invaluable to Dr. Beauchamp on this project.  Together, they have logged over 160 hours in the field and have covered 86 miles in search of these rare plants.

For his fellowship, Jonathan is assisting with a literature review and with conducting spatial analysis to document land-use history in the park.  This fellowship will help support that work and also allow Jonathan to present results at a scientific conference and contribute to drafting a manuscript for publication in a scientific journal, two invaluable professional experiences, a rare opportunity for an undergraduate student.

These three fellows exemplify the curiosity, dedication, and academic excellence that the NPS CW CESU Student Research Fellowship program was designed to support. Through their research, they are advancing our understanding of ecological restoration, wildlife conservation, and rare plant management in national parks across the Chesapeake Watershed. We’re proud to support their efforts and look forward to seeing the impact of their work—both in the parks and in the broader scientific community.

In 2023, we launched an effort to increase student engagement with CW CESU projects.  The NPS National Capital Region Office (NCRO) provided extra funding for a fellowship program.

The fellowship program was directly advertised to principal investigators (PIs) of active CW CESU projects during the falls of 2023 and 2024. PIs were asked to submit a nomination for any student with whom they wanted to work.  The nomination supplied information about the work that the student could perform, as well as their academic and professional history.  Due to the funding source, projects from the National Capital Region were assigned priority in the selection process.  The CW CESU received a large number of competitive nominations for talented and impressive students and wish that funding was available to support them all.

We would like to offer more fellowships for calendar year 2026, but that will depend upon funding availability.  Stay tuned to your email in the fall of 2025 for potential future announcements concerning fellowship opportunities.