Fall 2002 Bulletin

Update from the River Otter Working Group

There has been a flurry of recent activity around the River Otter Working Group, who held regular meetings over the first half of the year. The project has been divided into a biological component and an educational component. The Biological component consists of performing otter surveys; mapping survey results; mapping habitat type, location and water quality; and eventually drafting reintroduction strategies. The Educational component will include a campaign to gain public support and interest and might include techniques such as workshops, letter writing, brochures, and other approaches to gain support from the public and from State representatives and officials. The group has recently submitted a grant proposal to Patagonia seeking funds to develop a comprehensive approach to surveying the rivers of the State and prioritizing the best sites for reintroduction. Paul Polechla, a biologist and founding member of the River Otter Working Group, has been continuing his work surveying the upper Río Grande for otters. The native otter species, the southwestern river otter (lutra or lontra canadensis sonorea(e)), is thought to be extirpated from the State but once had a range that included rivers in southeastern California, southern Nevada, southern Utah, southwestern Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. The River Otter Working Group has been steadly gaining support. Recently organizations such as the the Upper Gila Watershed Alliance, the Wildlands Project and the Center for Biological Diversity have joined the Working Group.

Please return to the Fall 2002 Bulletin Index.

Return to the Amigos Bravos Home Page.