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For Immediate Release
Defenders of Wildlife Strongly Supports U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Terminating Sea Otter Translocation Program and Management Zone
Defenders Urges the Service to Finalize its recommendation to allow otters to freely return to Southern California waters
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Today, at the first of two public hearings, Defenders of Wildlife, along with the Humane Society of the United States, The Ocean Conservancy, and the Sea Otter Defense Initiative, a project of Earth Island Institute’s International Marine Mammal Project, strongly supported the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s recommendation to allow sea otters to "remain in areas where they now reside," end the translocation program, and eliminate the controversial "no-otter management zone." This alternative is known as "Alternative 3C."
"We welcome the opportunity to tell the Service that we agree with them that the translocation program and ‘no otter management zone’ must be abolished," said Jim Curland, Marine Associate for Defenders of Wildlife. "We believe that the public will strongly support the return of the California sea otter to Southern California waters."
This proposed action by the Service reflects the expert findings from both the final Southern Sea Otter Biological Opinion (July 2000) and final Southern Sea Otter Recovery Plan (2003) made by a team of esteemed scientists and Service staff. These documents conclude that:
"After reviewing the current status of the southern sea otter, the environmental baseline for the action area, the continuation of the containment program, and the cumulative effects, it is the Service’s biological opinion that continuing the containment program and restricting the southern sea otter to the area north of Point Conception (which marks the current legal boundary between the parent range and the management zone, with the exception of the translocation zone at San Nicolas Island) is likely to jeopardize its continued existence."
On October 7th, the Service released the long-awaited draft environmental document in which the Service recommends ending a controversial program that prohibits southern sea otters from migrating beyond Point Conception and down the Santa Barbara and Ventura coastline. A recent Defenders of Wildlife report completed by Dr. John Loomis, a natural resources economist from Colorado State University, concluded that an expanded sea otter population could generate millions in tourism dollars for California’s economy. For a copy of the report, click here. In addition, Defenders of Wildlife and a team of expert scientists agree that the southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) needs to expand its range southward in order to achieve recovery of this species.
"The time has come to eliminate the artificial boundary and management zone designed to prevent sea otters from returning to their historic habitat in Southern California," declared Curland. "Allowing sea otters to freely return to coastal Southern California makes good environmental and economic sense."
"The sea otter translocation program has not fulfilled its intended purpose," said Curland. "The existence of a ‘no-otter management zone’ that attempts to restrict sea otter range expansion undermines future recovery of this species."
It has been five years since the Service held scoping meetings in Santa Barbara and Monterey to get input on the alternatives that would be contained in the draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, as well as address any concerns regarding future sea otter management goals. In addition to the November 1st meeting in Santa Barbara, there will be a second meeting on November 3rd at the Monterey Bay Aquarium auditorium. Both meetings run from 6pm-9pm.
For more information on this issue and the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, visit: www.saveseaotters.org.
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Defenders of Wildlife is a leading nonprofit conservation organization recognized as one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and its habitat. With more than 490,000 members and supporters, Defenders of Wildlife is an effective leader on endangered species issues.
