• Defenders of Wildlife
Senate bill betters odds for sea otter survival
California Senator takes reigns on sea otter recovery
Summary
• Senator Barbara Boxer introduces the Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act on October 1, 2009.
• The California sea otter spring 2009 population census indicates a decline in the three-year population average for the first time in over a decade.
• Concerns over the decline have researchers and the conservation community urging the U.S. Senate to pass the Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act, which was overwhelmingly approved by the House earlier this summer.
WASINGTON (Oct. 1, 2009) — A bill recently floated by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) aims to help turn the tide for California’s declining population of sea otters. The measure – Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act (S. 1748) – will give vital funding to researchers working to unravel the reasons behind California’s recent sea otter decline, which was discovered earlier this spring and is the first drop-off in the three-year population average in over a decade.
Defenders of Wildlife marine program associate Jim Curland, a long-time advocate for sea otter recovery, thinks that this bill couldn’t have come soon enough:
“Sea otters are really struggling,” said Curland. “But hopefully, Sen. Boxer’s Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act will be the life-line that sea otters need to keep their heads above the water.
“Sen. Boxer has been a long-time champion and supporter of sea otter research and conservation efforts in California, and we greatly appreciate her leadership in introducing the Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act.
“The sea otter faces challenges on its road to recovery in California, and we encourage the Senate to support sea otter research. This bill is a critical step toward putting the California sea otter population back on the right track.”
Background
The Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act was first introduced in the House in 2003. This legislation would authorize $5 million a year for five years to fund research pertaining to California sea otter health and recovery.
This past summer, Defenders of Wildlife members and
activists sent more than 63,000 messages to their U.S. representatives in support of the Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act (H.R. 556). The bill passed by a vote of 316-107 at the end of July 2009.
Links
Get the details on Defenders' sea otter work.
Keywords/tags
Defenders+Wildlife Senator+Boxer Senator+Barbara+Boxer Southern+Sea+Otter+Recovery+Research+Act saveseaotters
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