Ana Bode

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Meet Ana Bode - The Toad Wrangler

How would you describe your conservation work to someone you just met?  

My conservation work is preserving a species that is often overlooked.  I work in Fisheries, but I do a lot of things fisheries folks don’t do, and many wouldn’t want to do. I work hard year round maintaining the three aspects of Saratoga National Fish Hatchery’s toad program. This includes maintaining the hatchery’s captive breeding population, maintaining the hatchery’s grow-out population, and maintaining the hatchery’s insect population. (Yes, I said insect population).

What does conservation mean to you?  

The best way to express what conservation means to me is using a quote from Aldo Leopold, “Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land. By land is meant all of the things on, over, or in the earth. Harmony with land is like harmony with a friend; you cannot cherish his right hand and chop off his left. That is to say, you cannot love game and hate predators; you cannot conserve the waters and waste the ranges; you cannot build the forest and mine the farm. The land is one organism. Its parts, like our own parts, compete with each other and co-operate with each other. The competitions are as much a part of the inner workings as the co-operations. You can regulate them cautiously, but not abolish them.”

What is your favorite aquatic species?  

The Wyoming toad of course!

Most enjoyable aspect of your work.

The most enjoyable aspect of my work is I do not have to sit behind a desk all day. 

Do you have a memorable moment on the job?

My job has many memorable moments. I am grateful for the opportunity to work in a career that I truly enjoy. I do have to say that 2020 was a memorable year for me, and not because of COVID. We saw our best breeding season for the toads in the history of the hatchery’s breeding program and released over 18,000 animals of all life stages (tadpoles, toadlets, and adults).

What led to your career choice?  Did you have a fish or conservation "ah-ha!" moment?  

Growing up I always was always fascinated with animals and loved being outdoors. Figuring out that there are many degree opportunities that allowed me to work in a career I love was my “ah-ha” moment.

Where did you go to school?  

I graduated with a B.S. from the University of Wyoming.