The 2024 Tom McAllister Scholarship Award was granted to Oregon State University Master’s student, Jansen Ivie, for his work studying the effects of the 2020 wildfire on salmonid abundance in the south fork of Hinkle Creek watershed near Roseburg, Oregon. Hinkle Creek’s south fork was devastated by the Archie Creek fire with over 70% of the watershed losing 75% of its forest canopy. Mr. Ivie’s work builds on extensive research on the effects of forest management on salmonids in this same watershed. He specifically studied the total biomass and density of Coastal cutthroat trout and Oncorhynchus mykiss throughout specific sections of the Hinkle Creek watershed. Interestingly, he found that biomass and density of these fish actually increased (by nearly 100% in some areas) throughout the study areas after the wildfire. He suggests that the salmonid populations studied are quite resilient and adaptable to wildfire disturbance. See Mr. Ivie’s abstract of his Master’s thesis here to learn more about his research.
Mr. Ivie is earning his Master’s degree in Forest Ecosystems and Society at the College of Forestry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon.
The Tom McAllister Scholarship Award was established by its namesake nearly 30 years ago. Mr. McAllister worked with the Fly Fisher Foundation to establish an annual granting process to award $5,000 to a OSU graduate student conducting research related to wild fish populations in Oregon and adjacent habitats.