Brett Ostby, graduate student in fisheries and wildlife sciences at Virginia Tech, is a recipient of the Budweiser Conservation Scholarship presented by the National Fisheries and Wildlife Foundation. Ostby, one of over 300 applicants, receives one of the ten scholarships of $10,000 for his academic achievements.

The scholarship will enable Ostby to continue his research on freshwater mussel habitat ecology in the Tennessee River system. Quantified habitat information is needed to restore the river's diverse fauna, which has been decimated by adverse habitat alterations caused by logging, mining, agriculture, and construction of dams. Ostby's research will aid the Tennessee Valley Authority in restoration and management of mussel populations throughout the Tennessee River> system.

Fisheries and wildlife science department head Don Orth says, "Brett is the first student from Virginia Tech to ever receive this scholarship." A native of Rochester, Minnesota, Ostby received his bachelor's degree from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

Written by Hilary Fussell, University Relations

Share this story