Barb Bodenstein is a Wildlife Disease Specialist at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center, Madison WI. She is part of a multidisciplinary group comprised of wildlife biologists, veterinarians, epidemiologists, statisticians and informatics specialists that conduct wildlife mortality investigations and disease ecology studies of emerging and recurring wildlife diseases. Barb serves as the  initial point of contact  for State, Federal and Tribal wildlife health professionals conducting wildlife disease morbidity and mortality investigations and provides response and management consultation for the Western United States including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Prior to coming to the NWHC, Barb worked in the National Wildlife Disease Program of USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, where she served as the Wildlife Disease Biologist for Wisconsin and Minnesota. During her tenure there, she developed cooperative partnerships with a wide variety of Federal, State, Tribal agencies, non-government entities and the general public regarding wildlife disease monitoring, surveillance, management and emergency response.

Barb began her career with the WI Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Health program as the Wildlife Health Technician after receiving her BS in Field Biology at UW Platteville.  Her area of expertise included extensive wildlife disease technical assistance to the wildlife veterinarian, toxicologist, field biologists and researchers with field and laboratory disease investigations. Special projects included disease and contaminant monitoring for a wide variety of Wisconsin native species including gray wolf, black bear, white-tailed deer, elk, trumpeter swan, common loon, bald eagle, woodcock, and snapping turtles.