Tim Roth of Vancouver, Washington, has been honored by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar for his leadership and exceptional accomplishments as the Deputy Project Leader for the Columbia River Fisheries Program Office in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Pacific Region.
During a celebration in front of his peers in Portland, Oregon, Pacific Regional Director Robyn Thorson presented Roth with the Department of the Interior’s Meritorious Service Award, the second highest honor an employee can receive from the Department.
This award recognizes Roth’s scientific excellence in collaborating with partners using innovative approaches to protect fisheries resources in the Pacific Northwest throughout his 35-year career-in the Service. Roth provides exceptional guidance and leadership as the Pacific Region’s representative on the Production Advisory and Harvest Committees of the U.S. vs Oregon forum of the Columbia River and on the Pacific Fishery Management Council and as the region’s past representative on the Salmon Technical Committee of the Pacific Fishery Management Council and the Bi-lateral Chinook Technical Committee of the Pacific Salmon Commission (Pacific Salmon Treaty). .
“I have been working with Tim for over two decades and it has been a joy and a privilege to serve alongside a person whose scientific and management contributions have been such a positive force in shaping aquatic resource conservation in the Pacific Region,” said Howard Schaller, Project Leader for the Service’s Columbia River Fisheries Program Office.
Roth’s advice and guidance is regularly sought by peers and managers within and outside the Service and strongly influences management decisions in the Columbia Basin. His technical expertise and leadership have contributed to successful negotiations of harvest agreements between Canada and the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, and numerous Pacific Northwest tribes for over 25 years. Most recently, Roth provided critical guidance to design a plan to modify tule and upriver-bright fall Chinook hatchery production above Bonneville Dam, which eased requirements for annual spill at necessary mainstem hydro dams while meeting fish production obligations to key West Coast fisheries.
Roth was also instrumental in guiding the Congressionally-mandated mass-marking of 37 million salmon at Service hatcheries that provide opportunities for fishermen to selectively harvest hatchery fish in nationally and internationally important fisheries. These selective fisheries have become an integral part of non-tribal harvest management, while ensuring the protection of populations listed under the Endangered Species Act.
Roth was raised in the Pacific Northwest and makes his home in Ridgefield, Washington. He graduated from Northwest Nazarene College in 1974 with a degree in Biology. Tim has been active in the local community, especially in his local church where he serves as a long-time small group leader and church board member. The day of his awards ceremony he was supposed to be leading the construction of the Singing Christmas Tree for the annual Ridgefield Nazarene Church program later in December.
Roth is married to the former Kathryn Mills, daughter of Maylan and Marjorie Mills of Kennewick, Washington. They have two daughters, Kristina (Roth) Benedick and Sydney (Roth) Stoltzfus, and two grandchildren, Caleb, 3, and Jael, 1, Benedick. Kristina and her husband, Dan, have just moved to Ecuador, South America with Tim’s grandchildren, where they will be serving a two-year medical mission tour through World Medical Missions. Sydney is a second year elementary education ESL teacher in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and her husband, Chad, works for the Veterans Administration. Although their children and grandchildren are a long way from home, Tim and Kathy enjoy the time they get to spend with them on Skype.
In accepting the award, Tim thanked his wife, Kathy, who attended the awards ceremony, and his children for being supportive of his career. “They have always been understanding of the long hours I work, the work I bring home, and the considerable amount of travel I do for my job,” Tim said..
