Texas Sea Grant Fellowship Program 2005

     We are pleased to announce the fifth annual Texas Sea Grant State Fellowship Program. Inaugurated in 2000, the program is patterned after the highly successful Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship program that is funded at the national level.
     Building on the basis of program’s previous success, we will provide one fellowship for a graduate student who is nearing completion of a Master’s or Ph.D. degree to serve with one of the state’s natural resource agencies.
     While based at Texas A&M University, the Texas Sea Grant College Program supports marine-related research at various universities within the state. In keeping with the statewide nature of the overall program, the 2005-2006 fellowship is open on a competitive basis to any qualified graduate student in the state.
     The Texas Sea Grant Fellowship is seen as a capstone educational opportunity to students who are in the final stages of their graduate degree programs in either natural resource or marine policy studies. Applicants should have completed all course work. Thesuccessful applicant may complete writing and defend a thesis or dissertation during the term of the fellowship. The selected applicant must be enrolled at his or her home institution at the beginning of the fellowship although in some cases graduation mayoccur prior to completing the fellowship.
     The one-year fellowship usually begins on September 1, although other starting dates are negotiable.
     Following an initial screening of the applications by the Texas Sea Grant staff, the dossiers of applicants selected for further consideration will be sent to the participating state agencies, who, in turn, will interview the potential fellows. Selection ofthe recipient of the fellowship will be made from the consensus of Texas Sea Grant and the interested state natural resource agencies. In cases where two or more agencies are interested in the same individual and that person is ultimately the person selected for the fellowship, the student will choose the organization with which he or she will work.
     Texas Sea Grant will subcontract financial support with the fellow’s home institution. The participating state agency will provide office space, supplies, travel and other required support. Agencies may also elect to provide a portion or all of the financial support for the fellows who work with them and may, if they elect, provide the funding required to expand the program.
     Texas Sea Grant will maintain contact with each fellow and his or her supervisor during the fellowship to evaluate the success of the program. Fellows will be asked to submit a brief summary of their experience upon completion of the fellowship. Agency supervisors will also be asked to make an evaluation of the fellow. Comments received will be used to improve the program as appropriate.
     In most instances the fellow will be based in Austin, Texas at the central office of the agency with which the fellow is working. Duties will be determined by the supervisor who is responsible for the fellow. Sea Grant will not be involved with day-to-day activities of the fellow.
Purpose: To provide selected graduate students from institutions of higher education within the state of Texas with experience working with a state government natural resource agency.
Location: Students selected for the program will be hosted by a state natural resource agency (e.g., Texas General Land Office, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas Water Development Board or Texas Commission on Environmental Quality). Most fellows will be based in Austin, though as a result of negotiations with the agency, another location may be selected.
Eligibility: Preference will be given to natural resource or marine policy graduate students who have completed their coursework and research and have only their thesis or dissertation to complete and defend prior to graduation. Students must be enrolled in a graduate program at the time the fellowship begins.
Duration: The fellowship duration will be one year (12 months).
Stipend: The stipend will be $25,000/annum.
Source of Support: The Texas Sea Grant College Program will provide full funding of the stipend. If the program is successful, additional fellowships, preferably with shared financial support between Sea Grant and the host agency, will be established.
Duties of Fellows: The successful fellow will be assigned duties by the agency with which the fellow will work. Information on the types of fellows each participating agency is looking for is provided below.
Application: Students should apply directly to the Texas Sea Grant Fellowship Program. Applications must be received by close of business on Monday, June 20, 2005. The application should include college transcripts, a curriculum vitae, a letter of application that includes a statement of why the applicant is seeking the experience with state government, and three letters of recommendation, including one from the student’s major professor. Applicants will be interviewed by Sea Grant staff and the applications of qualified individuals will be submitted to interested agencies for review and additional interviews. The fellowship period will begin on September 1, 2005 or on some other date negotiated with the agency with which the successful fellow will be working.
Contact: For additional information on the program, please contact

    Dr. Robert R. Stickney, Director
    Texas Sea Grant College Program
    2700 Earl Rudder Freeway South, Suite 1800
    College Station, Texas 77845
    Tel: (979) 845-3854
    Fax: (979) 845-7525
    e-mail: stickney@tamu.edu

Agency Requirements

General Land Office

     The Coastal Management Division of the Texas General Land Office would benefit from a Fellow who is interested in coastal policymaking, especially at the state and local level. The Division is responsible for administering the Texas Coastal Management Program (CMP) and serving as staff for the Coastal Coordination Council, the policymaking body that oversees the program. The Council is comprised of the leaders of seven state agencies and four citizen members appointed by the Governor.
     The focus of the fellowship would be to increase public input into policymaking, education and outreach. The position would provide the opportunity for an individual to gain close-up knowledge of coastal issues and policy development in such areas as wetland protection and restoration, nonpoint source pollution and natural hazard response. Working relationships will be established with local, state and federal officials and coastal citizens addressing coastal problems.

1.Develop a mechanism to enhance public participation in coastal policymaking.
     •  Identify current coastal stakeholders and define their interest.
     •  Devise a mechanism to seek stakeholder input on at least an annual basis.
     •  Format a report to summarize input and track progress.
2.Develop a mechanism to enhance effectiveness of public education and outreach efforts on Texas coastal resources and policies.
     •  Devise a mechanism to identify and measure knowledge gaps and audiences (possibly a survey; including stakeholder focus groups to refine survey questions)
     •  Develop a strategic plan to use information gained to focus education and outreach efforts and to track progress
     •  Identify contractors if needed
3.Develop performance measures to gauge effectiveness of coastal cleanups, education, outreach and public participation in policymaking.

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

Total Maximum Daily Load Program

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

     The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a multidisciplinary resource management agency charged with the management of Texas fish and wildlife resources. The agency has management, research and hatchery facilities that serve all areas of the coast and offer many opportunities for research as well as the development of resource conservation and management policies based on the outcomes of that research. A primary focus is the development of freshwater inflow recommendations for regulatory and policy making entities to assure the health and productivity of Texas diverse estuaries. In this area TPWD and Texas are recognized national leaders.
     Opportunity exists in this area and many others that may be of interest to potential Sea Grant fellows. Some specifics are listed below, however, the agency is always open to proposals that help TPWD meet its legislatively mandated responsibilities.

1.Study the water and habitat quality differences between channelized and unchannelized coastal streams
2. Development of economic value figures for different wetland types especially forested wetlands.
3. Development of a project to assess habitat mitigation effectiveness.
4. Development of a GIS database for SE Texas wetlands showing existing wetlands, Clean Water Act permits, wetland restoration sites, and potential wetland restoration site.
5. Characterization the hydrology, vegetation, wildlife use and geographic extent of native prairie wetlands of the SE Texas coastal plain.
6. Characterization of the hydrology, vegetation, wildlife use and geographic extent of native flatwoods wetlands of the SE Texas coastal plain.
7. Development of a handbook for the identification of wetland types for Texas.
8. Another area of specific interest is the efficacy of fisheries management strategies, specifically:
9. A Review of Limited Entry Programs and Associated License Buyback Programs

Texas Water Development Board

     The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has long been involved in assessing the relationship between the volume and timing of freshwater entering the bays and the health and productivity of those bays. Recent discussions of our past work are prompting a revisiting of past methodologies and conclusions. The group regularly collects physical data in the bays for the purpose of development and calibration of detailed salinity and circulation models. The Bay and Estuary Unit of the TWDB is also increasingly involved in discussions with stakeholders concerning the desired qualities of the bays, and how freshwater inflows determine bay conditions. The Bay and Estuary group is interested in a Fellow with recent training and practice in aspects of scientific research. Specific needs includes an individual:

1. To compile coastal and estuarine ecosystem research results into a format accessible for management and public discussion;
2. To work with others on new ways to quantify bay health;
3. To employ quantitative and comparative analysis skills to interpret data from bay studies;
4. To assist others in processing and analyzing data on bay hydrodynamics and physical forcing factors;
5. To apply knowledge of estuarine biota and/or bio-geochemical processes to discussions concerning the impact of altered freshwater inflows on estuarine productivity; and
6. With basic knowledge of and interest in numerical modeling.