Q. What is the highlight of your career?
A. The highlight of my current career as a fish and wildlife biologist would be completing my second degree in Environmental Science, with an emphasis on Fish and Wildlife Management. This degree secured my current position where I work with, care for, breed, and release the Wyoming toad, an endangered species. I also retired from a career in Law Enforcement and have many stories and highlights. From that, I am most proud of earning the Officer of the Year award in a department of about 170 sworn officers.

Q. What are challenges you encounter in your career?
A. As a biologist, I am responsible for over 1000 Wyoming Toads. Maintaining a healthy breeding population is vital to the program. I am always monitoring the toads’ health, environmental conditions, feed, water quality, and any other hazards that may negatively affect their well-being. I have identified and removed several of these hazards and continue to work to improve the toads’ health.

Q. How did you get to this career?
A. retired from a 24-year career in law enforcement. I had the opportunity to continue my education and always wanted to work in the hatchery system. I completed my degree and volunteered for 6 months at the Saratoga Hatchery. I then completed a 6-month internship and was hired to run the Wyoming Toad program.

Q. What is something unique about your career most people might not know or understand about what you do?
A. Just the idea of working with a species that is considered extinct in the wild and trying to reintroduce it back into its home range in the Laramie Basin.

Q. Are there scholarship or internship opportunities available with your career? If so, where can more information about those be found?
A. Yes, there are intern positions available. The SCA, or Student Conservation Association, is a great place to start, offering opportunities all over the country. The US Fish and Wildlife also hires seasonal technicians, and this would also be a great place to start.