Heidi Keuler talks to students about electrofishing equipment that fishery biologists use to capture fish. - FWS photo

Heidi Keuler demonstrates how fish are netted on an electrofishing boat. - FWS photo

In the small town of Westby, WI, you can still find a few people that speak their ancestor’s native Norwegian language.  “Uff da!” young high school students exclaimed when an old Westby High School alum sliced into the ventral side of a rainbow trout’s stomach and minnows came exploding out. 

Heidi Keuler, the mentioned alum, graduated from Westby more than 10 years prior to becoming a fishery biologist for the La Crosse Fishery Resources Office.  She now stood in Mr. Papendorf’s aquaculture class, and performed a dissection to show the 15 students all of the organs before they would each have to dissect a trout. 

Students had to learn both form and function, and eagerly did so.  At first, a couple of the students were hesitant, but by the end of class they were into their fish elbow deep.  Later in the fish and wildlife management class, Heidi presented a career talk to approximately 25 students. 

She explained both the STEP and SCEP positions in the FWS, the path she took in life, and how she ended up with such a satisfying career.