The Rocky Mountain National Park and the Rocky Mountain Conservancy are now accepting applications for the 2025 Bailey Research Fellowship.
The program is designed to provide opportunities for qualified graduate students looking to perform research within Rocky Mountain National Park. The students can then receive support in sharing that work with the public.
"Graduate student researchers are important contributors to the field of science and to our understanding of Rocky Mountain National Park," the park said in a news release.
The release goes on to share some of the past Bailey Research Fellowship project topics, including habitat selection of white-tailed ptarmigan, disease susceptibility among boreal toad populations, elevational occupancy by pika subspecies, plant physiology and riparian ecosystem recovery, and risk analysis of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in soil and water.
"Staff with Rocky Mountain National Park and Rocky Mountain Conservancy are proud to support the next generation of park scientists and stewards through the Bailey Research Fellowship," the release states.
Per the release, Bailey Fellowship applicants must be currently enrolled graduate students, display excellence in research, be interested in a career working with public lands, and show the ability to effectively communicate with public audiences.
Housing inside the park, a living stipend and financial support for research supplies and professional conference attendance are provided by the fellowship.
Additional application information and the application itself are available on the Rocky Mountain Conservancy's website.
The fellowship is an endowed program funded by the Leslie Fidel Bailey Charitable Trust. One fellowship is awarded annually.
A broad range of research proposals are eligible to be reviewed and potentially conducted in Rocky Mountain National Park, including wildlife and recreation management, vegetation and riparian studies, fire ecology, cultural sciences, archeology and historic structures preservation, as well as other topics in botany, zoology, geology, history, ecology and ornithology.
The student awarded the Bailey Research Fellowship will work with Rocky Mountain National Park staff for a period of three to four months.