An interview with Scott Groth: Resource, Assessment, Management Section Leader for Marine Resources Program at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
By Carina Burroughs, WCOA Fellow at NOAA Fisheries
Over the past three months, the WCOA fellows diligently advanced their fellowship projects at their host agencies while also coordinating interviews with West Coast ocean leaders to gather valuable insights from coastal managers in our region. Below is the transcript from Carina Burrough’s interview with Scott Groth, the Resource, Assessment, Management Section Leader for Marine Resources Program at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Can you please provide a high level overview of what your job addresses?
I manage a whole range of projects and programs and the people who work on them. Those programs are marine mammals (mainly pinniped management), marine reserves (ecologists, human dimensions, economist, etc.), shellfish program (clams, shrimp fishery), marine habitat (mapping bottom, also kelp), fish research (e.g. recovery from barotrauma), and ocean energy projects (ocean development, asserting our authorities regarding ocean development). There are people in charge of each of those different components, but I play a more lead part in some areas, especially ocean energy. It’s important that I work with all these different programs and understand what they do because I represent the agency more broadly, for example as part of WCOA. So my job involves being entrenched in lots of projects day-to-day but also representing the agency at a higher level.
Could you share briefly what your day-to-day work is like?
We are a pretty big team, with about fifty people in the section, including ten people who directly report to me. So a lot of the day-to-day work I do is coordinating the whole range of people within our agency. I also have lots of meetings with different agencies, and I represent ODFW at different groups or events. There is a lot of availability to join the different programs I manage within ODFW for fieldwork, and that’s a lot of fun when there is time for it. I also work on reviewing research papers that the team comes up with and work with people in my section to write papers. I tend to engage in more writing and analysis in this role because that’s the background I came from.
Could you share the story of your career journey? How did you come to work at ODFW?
As I reflect on it, doing a lot of different things throughout my career has been very valuable. I started out getting a bachelor’s in biology, and then I worked in water quality in Lake Ontario with a field team – primarily testing if the water was safe to swim in. After that, I moved out of New York and became an observer in Alaska. Being an observer was really difficult work but also really valuable. I learned a lot of species identification and met and spent time with different people working in the fishing industry. Then I had a position with ODFW as a stream surveyor. I would walk up stream, look at the habitat, and see how many fish were spawning. This was usually in teams or with a partner – very fun and a lot of time outside. Next, I got involved with a mark recapture project at ODFW, which was my first experience with that kind of science. After that I headed back to the East Coast to work for the Corps of Engineers doing hydrographic surveys in Virginia. I learned a lot in that role, mostly about boats and physics. And then – back to ODFW, where I’ve remained now for 20 years. I returned as a biologist doing fieldwork and managing fisheries, and later moved into my current position. I would say I went from managing fisheries to managing managers.
A big message I would highlight: I worked for a lot of different agencies, and the culture at ODFW was really what brought me back. It’s very team-oriented and the people and the high level of support make ODFW what it is. I would also say my advice is to try a lot of different things. Early in your career, it’s easy to want a permanent role as soon as possible, but there is a lot of value in what you learn from all these different roles.
What are the most important skills to develop for a position like yours?
The number one I would say is resilience. If you work for a fish and wildlife agency, you have a role in between conservationists and other stakeholders, and a good decision or compromise often leaves no one happy. That’s been a big change from my last job to now being in more of a supervisor role. Being a supervisor really requires you to be resilient. Compared to a field job where you might complete a certain number of transects or something else concrete, sometimes you spend the whole day listening to people without a definite outcome. And so you have to be resilient and know that the time spent listening and working with others is building towards something. Also, learning to be a good member of a team, which can be challenging. A team reflects the components, and being a good component is critical. Finally, I’d add being a good communicator. Good communication is usually short, effective, and you have to know your audience. When I was first working with the fishing fleets, I had a similar background to many of them and had an easy time relating, and when I eventually moved roles I had to learn to communicate with groups of people who I didn’t have a shared background with. And I learned it’s always important to be respectful and honest, and you have to be able to read people and really engage with them. Which is even more challenging in the remote-working and Zoom world today.
What is your favorite aspect of your current work?
First would be the subjects– they’re really interesting to me and that’s why I got into it. I enjoyed getting into the specifics of different research subjects in my past jobs, but in this role I can work a little bit with a lot of areas and that really challenges me in new ways. Teamwork is also one of my favorite aspects – it’s really great when you successfully work together with a team and have a satisfying result.
Can you offer an example of how you are working to collaborate with others outside of ODFW, maybe other agencies or communities?
For ODFW, one of the key groups we work with is fishery participants. They engage with the fisheries, of course, but they also have the boats and the knowledge so we do a lot of research with them. Tribal government engagement is also really critical, but it can involve working through capacity challenges. We’re also a really public facing agency and we use messaging to engage sport users and others. We’re always learning how to work with different groups, like conservationists, and we’ve really seen a shift in the fishing industry and interest in working in sustainable fisheries on their part. Balancing all the ideas and managing different relationships can be a really challenging part of collaborating with others.
What advice do you have for an early career scientist?
Listening and learning – I think that has always helped me a lot. Asking questions – people are always willing to talk to you and help you out in this field and you can learn a lot from them. Learning how to ask for help is really important too. I would also give the advice that you shouldn’t be in a hurry to settle down in one position or one place – move around and try a lot of different things while you are earlier in your career and have flexibility. I’d add that relationships are really important. Being respectful and nice to the people you work with – relationships are long, and you will see a lot of the same people for the rest of your career. I mentioned teamwork before, but it’s really so important.
