A New Hope for Restoration

In the past decades, the San Francisco Bay Area has seen a steady decline in the Otter population. While the River Otters were close to extinction in the region, many did not know this due to the minimal information there is about otters. Before the existence of the River Otter Ecology Project, only two articles could be found about our local river otters. Now, thanks to the help of the River Ecology Project, we know more about otters than ever before.

The River Otter Ecology Project is a non-profit organization that aspires to discover the connection between the growing population of River Otters and our watersheds. Their goal is to bring awareness to the public in order to get more people involved in the restoration and conservation of the watershed environment. Their workers consist of only volunteers who are determined to find more about Otter ecology, habitat, and behavior in our watersheds.

It is essential to know about River Otters, because they are an important species that live in our waters and on land. Watersheds are very important, because they supply our drinking water, provide water for agricultural use and provide a habitat for many plants and animals. Unfortunately, many of these watersheds have been polluted or diminished from years of drought conditions. In spite of this, the otter population appears to be rebounding. The River Otter Ecology Project has recorded over nine hundred sightings as of July 2014. That is why seeing an Otter brings hope to our watersheds. Their comeback shows great promise for conserving the watershed, and by restoring it we help support us all.

River Otters can be seen in the San Francisco Bay Area ranging from San Jose to the Sacramento Valley. Their habitat extends from headwaters to oceans using every part of the watershed as their home. The River Otter Ecology Project has obtained lots of information about Otters that educate the public of their ecology. Their research methodology does no harm to the otters, their natural environment or daily rituals, mostly because their research consists of cameras being placed in certain areas. At first, the researchers believed the Otters would be afraid of their cameras, but as it turns out their curiosity took over and some of the otters even played with these cameras.

After a presentation from the co-founder, Megan Isadore, I was intrigued to hear about how near Otters lived near my own home. Isadore spoke about the variety of ways one can find Otters by identifying their tracks. One can find Otter signs by observing the land along creeks and rivers or anywhere that consist of small to large bodies of water. The first signs of an Otter habitat are their latrine sites. These sites are filled with a variety of Otter scat. These are located on high ground around a river of water usually on ponds, logs, or rocks on water.

Along these streams, slides can also be found. These are indicators of Otters sites. As a way of getting into the water, otters slide from land into lakes or rivers, and can be clearly identified when seen. Other indications of Otter environments are flat beds of land. Otters tend to roll around along the edges of water where they twist and turn flattening grass and dirt along with their scat. This may be odd, but it is their way of communicating to each other the type of surrounding they are in, like the food they eat or any illnesses in the environment. Anyone can find these signs along their neighborhood creeks or streams that are attached to larger bodies of water. Anyone can submit their findings to the River Otter Ecology Project website, and see their findings posted on their Otter Spotter blogs.

Every single person working for the River Otter Ecology Project is a volunteer ranging from specialist to high school interns. Their staff consists of around twenty or so members that are busy trying to find more information about River Otters. But there are those who simply spot otters and record it. This is called a citizen scientist.  A citizen scientist is someone who observes otters in their neighborhood or anywhere else near them. Anyone can become a citizen scientist and help support the River Otter Ecology Project and their cause. Taking a picture or video of an otter near you can help the ROEP accomplish their mission of discovering new information about Otters. By going onto their website, one can find quick facts about Otters as well as how to spot any near you.

The River Otter population was once close to extinction from the San Francisco Bay Area. Let us help the ROEP (www.riverotterecology.org) not only to conserve the health of our watersheds, but also to restore the wonderful unique species that once filled our watersheds in the Bay.