Application Deadline: TBD
Marty was a man who loved wild trout, the places they lived and was dedicated to protecting and preserving these precious resources. He continually challenged the organizing committee for each symposium to find the best research and management biologist internationally to come and present the results their work. Marty was also believed that students needed to be significantly involved in the symposium.
As the Organizing Committee for Wild Trout IX planned the event, they discussed ways to recognize Marty for over 30 years of involvement with the Symposium and contributions to the Symposium's Organizing Committee. Based on these discussions, the Marty Seldon Student Scholarship Award was established. At the end of the Awards Lunch for Wild Trout IX in 2007 Marty was surprised with the announcement that this award was being established in his honor. Two awards are to be presented at each symposium.
In order to recognize outstanding students in the field of fisheries management and biology, and to encourage their participation in Wild Trout Symposia, two students will be awarded with Marty Seldon Student Scholarships at each symposium. Each award consists of a $750 stipend to assist student travel or other costs incurred in their attendance.
Awards are open to graduate students in Fisheries Management or related field. Applicants will be judged on a combination of current graduate GPA and an essay written by the applicant. Please send nomination forms before July 15, 2026 to Awards@wildtroutsymposium.com.
For questions, contact: Awards Committee Chair
Awards@wildtroutsymposium.com
In Honor of Marty Seldon
Marty Seldon graduated from Columbia University with a degree in electrical engineering. He served in the US Army of Occupation in Germany just after World War II. Marty worked for Varian Associates as an engineer and sales manager and remained as a consultant until 2009. He married his wife Rita in 1952 and moved to Sunnyvale, California where he lived until his passing. He is survived by his wife, two children, and three grandchildren who currently reside in California and Oregon.
Marty was an active conservationist and fisherman and remained active up until the day of his death. Marty lived by the "all species, all waters" motto and went fishing throughout Europe, Iceland, and Costa Rica and of course, enjoyed fishing in his local California waters. One of his close friends, Mike Brinkley, went fishing with Marty as recently as October of this last year, where he caught a beautiful steelhead on the Rogue River. Another friend, Craig Nielsen, went fly fishing with Marty in early December on the Klamath River.
Marty was energetic and passionate about wild trout conservation. Marty wrote columns for the San Francisco and Central Valley fishing papers in the early 1960s. He served as the conservation Vice President for the Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF) from 1976-1986 and received their highest award, the Lapis Lazuli. Marty also served as a senior advisor and Industry Data Base Chairman on the International Relations Committee for the FFF. Near and dear to us, Marty served on the organizing committee for Wild Trout since the second wild trout symposium in 1979. Marty remained actively involved with the Wild Trout symposium up until the day he died. Marty was awarded the Aldo Starker Leopold award for longtime services to coldwater fishery resources in 1984 from the Wild Trout symposium. Marty also remained active in many local conservation groups and was a member of the Flycasters of San Jose Club and the Northern California Council Federation of Flyfishers.
Marty will be remembered for his unwavering enthusiasm and passion. He was continually contacting groups and individuals to join our mailing list and wanted to make sure that the Wild Trout symposium was reaching the broadest audience possible. He was also a wonderful resource of historical information and was happy to share his experiences and photographed all of our past meetings so that the memories and details could be preserved. We all wil miss Marty and will continue his legacy through our Marty Seldon Graduate Student Travel Award, an award created and announced at the last Wild Trout Symposium Marty attended in 2010.
Past Recipients
| WT-XIII (2022) | Jeff Baldock Ridge Slinger |
| WT-XII (2017) | Travis Rehm Shannon White Olivia Sparrow |
| WT-XI (2014) | Chris Free Casey Weathers |
| WT-XI (2013) (meeting postponed) | David C. Kazyak Jessica R. Reilly |
| WT-X (2010) | Bradly Allen Trumbo Daniel A. James |