OTTERS!

testimonial
I fell in love with watershed ecology in all its complicated and elegant
messiness while working with the critically endangered coho salmon of
Lagunitas Creek in Marin County, California. As the salmon population
continued to decline, the political and very human battles over land use
policy became angry, personal and painful. At the same time, we began
to note an increase in North American River otter sightings, particularly
along the coastline, estuaries and bays.
Watching these beautiful predators travel, hunt and play in the watershed
became a reassuring hobby. After being absent from the San Francisco
Bay Area, the otters were making an under-the-radar comeback. When
we realized that no governmental, research or other agency was paying attention to the otters, my
co-founders and I began the River Otter Ecology Project. Our goal is to tease out the ecological
niche of river otters in our area. We began with an Otter Spotter program using citizen science to
report otter sightings to our website. The sightings began pouring in and public excitement over
the charismatic watershed ambassadors grew. Here was a message of hope to the public: the
restoration and conservation measures taken since the 1970’s were having a surprise effect, one
that everyone could enjoy.
Megan Isadore
North American River otter,
North America
In addition to citizen science and educating children and adults on the importance of watersheds,
we began a focused study effort using noninvasive camera trapping, observation and scat collection
for DNA analysis. This is where the pure joy began…the thrill of watching otter families give birth, raise
their young, hunt, play, socialize, interact with other wildlife in my home watershed over months and
years has been like none other. Getting up before dawn to catch a glimpse of them and follow
the otters along bluffs as the sun rises behind us, watching the pups learn to fish and even catch
shorebirds, seeing them roll for minutes at a time along a sandy shore… it makes me abidingly
happy. For me, it’s the privilege of a lifetime to observe my home watershed over the course of years,
get to know all the life within it as my neighbors and share that joy with others. My hope is that we all
may become better stewards of our planet.
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