Sea Otter Open House--Port Orford

Sea otters.\Photo by Eric Palmer.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is hosting 16 public open houses with communities in Northern California and Oregon this month to gather input on the potential reintroduction of sea otters to their historical range. The open houses will provide communities and stakeholders an opportunity to ask questions, share perspectives and speak with FWS staff about sea otters and next steps in recovery efforts including the potential reintroduction process – should a proposal move forward.  (Here in Oregon, the Elakha Alliance, which Oregon Shores helped to found and strongly supports, works for sea otter reintroduction.)

There will be three of these sea otter open houses in Curry County (plus a fourth just over the border in Crescent City). The first of these takes place in Port Orford on June 23, 11 am.-1 p.m, in the Port Orford Library, Large Conference Room (1421 Oregon St.).

See this article for the full schedule.

The southern sea otter, one of three subspecies of sea otter, is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. As directed by Congress, the Service assessed reintroduction feasibility in 2022. The assessment concluded that reintroduction was biologically feasible and may have significant benefits for a variety of species in the marine ecosystem and expedite the recovery of the threatened southern sea otter.  

The assessment also concluded that additional information about how reintroduction would affect stakeholders and local communities was needed before considering the next steps. There is no active proposal to reintroduce sea otters at this time. 

The open houses will help the FWS gather further information to inform next steps. Community values and issues are critical in this process. Input from the public and key stakeholders, including ocean users, will be a foundational component in establishing next steps including whether or not a potential reintroduction is proposed, as well as ensuring that proposals are crafted in a way that benefits stakeholders and local communities.     

The FWS “aims to be inclusive, thoughtful, and scientifically sound as we consider actions to support sea otters, local communities and ecosystem recovery, now and in the future.”