Cascadia Scorecard News
April 2005

It's not just their frolicking cuteness that makes sea otters in the Pacific Northwest a delight. The steady return of sea otters since their reintroduction in the 1970s also may be a harbinger of a return to more complete and fully-functioning marine ecosystems in Cascadia.

Otters were the victims of the fur trade--by 1911 the lucrative trade in pelts had eradicated northern sea otters from all of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. They were conspicuously absent from their native ecosystems south of Alaska until 1969 and 1970 when 59 otters, brought down from Alaska, were released on the Washington coast. By 1982 only 14 remained. But then the otter population began to grow by leaps and bounds. By 1990, scientists counted 208 otters on the Washington coast. By 2000, there were more than 500. Last year, officials spotted 743.

Unfortunately, re-introduction in Oregon about the same time failed miserably: all 93 of the otters transplanted there died. But in British Columbia, a re-introduced population of 89 gained a web-footed hold and expanded magnificently. Officials now estimate that 2,500 otters inhabit the province's coastlines, mostly along northern Vancouver Island.

Sea otters aren't the only "charismatic megafauna"-what biologists sometimes call large, memorable, and often lovable animals that attract public attention-to make a comeback in the Northwest in recent years. While more politically contentious, the reintroduction of gray wolves into the Northwest states is a success story that suggests that people can play a hand in restoring our native ecology.

Like other predators, sea otters and wolves affect many layers of the ecosystem they inhabit-scientists call this a "trophic cascade." Sea otters prey on spiny sea urchins, which in turn consume kelp, which in turn provides habitat for near-shore species. Some researchers believe that when sea otters were extirpated, the urchins devoured vast native kelp forests. So sea otters could help return marine ecosystems to a more complete state.

Wolves preying on elk can mean more streamside trees (good for songbirds) because elk fear to linger in the open browsing on aspen shoots. More riparian trees means more streamside shade (good for native trout) and more raw material for beavers.

But the truth is, even though sea otters and wolves have made impressive comebacks, both creatures are still in a precarious position. Their populations still only represent a tiny percentage of their historical abundance. And while their range is expanding, they are still confined to relatively small and isolated areas.

But the success of sea otters and wolves returning to the Northwest signifies not only a return to wild-ness, but the beginning of a return to healthy and thriving natural systems.

The Daily Score articles:

10th Birthday for Yellowstone's Wolves
Cascadian Wolf Populations Growing
Wolves and the Ripple Effect
A New Plan for Sea Otters
Protection of the Kermode Bear