Jessica Larson Receives Cabela’s Conservation Award
Jessica A. Larson of Dassel, Minnesota, was recently awarded the 2004 Cabela’s Conservation Award. The award celebrates the role of hunting and fishing in conservation and is awarded to a natural resources student at the University of Minnesota, Crookston (UMC).
Jessica Larson, center, is congratulated by Cabela’s East Grand Forks
store manager, Troy Baker, left, and UMC wildlife professor, John Loegering.
“The Cabela’s Company is pleased to provide this award in recognition of the important role that hunting and fishing have played in the development and maintenance of our conservation heritage in America,” according to Troy Baker, manager of the East Grand Forks store. “The $500 award honors an outstanding student at UMC who displays significant potential to contribute to the field.” Recipients must have at least a 3.00 G.P.A, be of senior status, and complete an essay on the role of hunting and fishing in conservation.
Larson is a senior majoring in natural resources - wildlife management at UMC and is “an excellent role model,” according to award coordinator and UMC wildlife professor John Loegering, Ph.D.. “Jessica brings energy, excitement, and passion to everything she does. She takes conservation and her convictions beyond the classroom and incorporates them into everything she does, every day,” added Loegering.
Larson was gracious in her acceptance of the award noting “I am really honored by this award, and grateful to Cabela’s for their sponsorship. Getting recognized on the basis of what I am striving for in my career gives me a great sense of pride.”
Last December Larson was selected to the student career employee program (SCEP) of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This leads to a permanent career opportunity with that agency after summer internships at different field sites as well as completing an advanced degree. This summer she will be stationed at the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuges in Oak Harbor, Ohio. Larson will begin her Master of Science program next January at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. SCEP positions are competitive and go to highly qualified candidates.
Receiving news of her selection “was the biggest, best present I have ever received, and I don’t know if I will ever be able to thank my former manager, Barry Christenson enough for the opportunity,” said Larson. “I know my job is not done yet, there is still much to be done in conserving our natural resources.”
The Cabela’s award adds to other prestigious awards Larson has received. This spring she was the recipient of UMC’s Norman Pankratz Conservation Award, the highest honor given by the Natural Resources Department to recognize the top, service-oriented and committed conservation student who also is excelling academically.
Larson’s success is a result of her active involvement and leadership in the department and the clubs. While at UMC Larson served as secretary and is the current president of the UMC student chapter of The Wildlife Society, a professional organization of wildlife biologists. She also was secretary and vice-president of the Natural Resources Club. She has logged hundreds of hours on more than a dozen volunteer opportunities to expand her professional experience, from sharp-tail grouse habitat work, to banding ducks, to collecting samples to be tested for chronic wasting disease this past fall. In 2003 she researched and developed wildlife-related materials to be used in the University of Minnesota’s Master Gardener program. Today they are used by gardeners across the state with questions about wildlife and gardening. “By staying active in both clubs, I feel like I am giving back to the community and furthering my own experience for what lies ahead, and I wouldn’t have it any other way, “ commented Larson on her reason for staying busy.
Other majors in the Natural Resources Department at UMC include natural resources law enforcement, park management, natural resources management, and water resource management. For further information contact John Loegering at 218-281-8132 or check the Department’s website at :
http://www.umcrookston.edu/academics/departments/NatR/NatR/
Posted 05/13/2004