Colorado State University Student Awarded Udall Scholarship

Note to Reporters: A photo of CSU student Jeremy Dertien is available with the news release at www.news.colostate.edu or on Flickr at www.flickr.com/coloradostateuniversity.

Jeremy Dertien, a fish, wildlife and conservation biology major at Colorado State University, has been awarded the prestigious Udall Scholarship.

The Udall Scholarship awards up to $5,000 to future leaders across a wide spectrum of environmental fields, including policy, engineering, science, education, urban planning and renewal, business, health, justice and economics. The Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation also provides scholarships to Native American or Alaska native students pursuing careers related to the environment, tribal public policy or Native American health care. Students must be college sophomores or juniors at the time of selection.

This year’s Udall Scholars were selected from a record 537 candidates nominated by 256 colleges and universities.

“We are very pleased to have done so well in the face of such highly qualified competition,” said Heather Esterday, director of CSU’s Office of Nationally Competitive Scholarship Programs.

Dertien is from Austin, Texas. He conducted volunteer research on the use and preservation of native plants at The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin. He also worked as an intern with The Nature Conservancy at the Phantom Canyon Preserve in remote northern Colorado. As a Texas Master Naturalist, he has volunteered his time assisting with control of invasive plant species, conducting bird surveys, and presenting information on habitat conservation and creation to K-12 students. He is currently studying abroad in Dunedin, New Zealand.

After graduation, Dertien plans a career in public policy impacting international habitat protection issues.

Bill Tiedje of Newton, Iowa, received a Udall Honorable Mention. He is an agricultural economics and natural resources management double major at CSU.

Tiedje is the president of the Society for Conservation Biology, and works with CSU Assistant Professor Joshua Goldstein in the Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources to help ranchers in northern Colorado find conservation-related revenue streams to support their livelihoods and allow them to stay financially viable. After graduation, he plans to attend graduate school before working as conservation professional.

This prestigious scholarship has generated 1,155 Udall Scholars since the first awards in 1996. For more information about the Udall Scholarship, go to http://www.udall.gov.

-30-