I'm with Ewest on this one -- where would we be without Bob? He is our center. I would never have met good friends Dwight, Eric, Dr. Bruce, etc., etc. (I always hate to list names, as there are so many who should be listed), without him. I would not be entertained by Theo and Sunil without him. The Jesse West endowment would not have happened without Bob, as our entire net would not exist.
What will we do with the endowment proceeds this year? The last two years, Ph.D. students benefitted from the proceeds. Well, this year, a young undergraduate student will benefit. The SD Department of Game, Fish and Parks stocked a series of ponds last year at a 25/acre rate for LMB fingerlings. Our LMB don't usually reproduce until age 2 up here, and it's a problem for initial stockings. Jeff Slipke suggested the 25/acre rate (rather than the typical 50-100), trying to get faster initial growth rates on the fish. So, this will be a low-key project compared to the high-tech assessment of muscle plugs and fin clips last year. However, Bob and Eric really liked the idea of switching around, and helping all levels of students.
