Tim began his Forest Service career on a thinning crew, advancing through smokejumping and contracting before retiring in 1997 as administrative staff officer for the Gallatin National Forest. Tim became the consummate conservation volunteer, “giving back,” as he likes to say. In 2005, he helped found Hellgate Hunters and Anglers. He later served as president of the Montana Wildlife Federation. He was chairman of Missoula’s Open Space Advisory Committee and a charter member of the Montana FWP Region 2 Citizen Advisory Committee. He served on the Montana FWP’s Finding Common Ground Working Group and its Licensing and Funding Advisory Council. Gov. Steve Bullock appointed Tim to the Montana Board of Outfitters where he served before being appointed to the Fish and Wildlife Commission in 2017. Tim served until 2023.

Each legislative session for several decades now, Tim has meticulously followed the progress of all legislation that affected Montana’s fish and wildlife. He was one of the key volunteers who developed strategies to lobby for passage of favorable bills and the untimely death of unfavorable bills.

Tim is one of the retired smokejumpers who have been organizing week-long trail maintenance/relocation projects in the national forests each summer. He is one of the organizers of the Conservation Roundtable, which honors several Missoula-area conservationists each year for their past work. Tim has received the Don Aldrich Fish and Wildlife Conservation Award, sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation in recognition of his father’s work. The Cinnabar Foundation recognized Tim with the Len and Sandy Sargent Stewardship Award in 2017.

Tim’s conservation roots run deep. His father, Don Aldrich, was one of the first citizen conservation lobbyists at the Montana legislature and a founder of the Montana Environmental Information Center. Tim’s brother, Dave (Shag), played a pivotal role in the Forest Service’s acceptance of natural fire in wilderness settings. The father and both boys took a low-budget pack trip through the Bob Marshall many decades ago, trundling their camp in a wheelbarrow (before wilderness legislation made such a conveyance illegal).

Tim has always taken the time to think a conservation challenge through. He has also questioned his own biases to make sure that he’s truly considering the range of options and opinions before him. This characteristic means that you can’t always assume that Tim will see issues exactly as you see them, particularly if your view is not as wide as his. But it did mean that Tim was recommended for confirmation to his Fish and Game Commission appointment by Sen. Jennifer Fielder, a regular critic of the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department. It is also why Tim has the respect of so many on all sides of Montana’s conservation issues. Tim has consistently demonstrated a very personal conservation ethic in a wide variety of issues, resulting in “inspired” leadership. His contribution to Montana’s conservation legacy is as significant as that of anyone living today.

Biography by Bert Lindler