Dear Marmam members,
The SEIS for the Southern Sea Otter Translocation Program is available
for public comment and the deadline closes on Jan 5, 2006. A coalition
of groups that are working on drafting comments (Defenders of Wildlife,
The Ocean Conservancy, Friends of the Sea Otter, Sea Otter Defense
Initiative, a project of Earth Island Institute's International Marine
Mammal Project, and The Humane Society of the United States) thought
it would be good to circulate a letter to get sign-ons for this very
critical policy issue for southern sea otter recovery. Please let me
know (all of my contact information is below this letter): your name,
title, affiliation if you would like to sign on to this letter. If you
have an e-signature, please send it as a jpeg. If everyone that signs
sends and e-signature, I will include them in the final letter. If
not, I will just list names, titles, affiliations. Defenders will be
an exhibitor at the SMM biennial (booth space E22). We will have a
copy of the letter there, as well. In addition, you can come by the
booth and provide your information for the letter there. If you have
any interest in reviewing any of the SEIS before agreeing to sign on,
please visit:
http://www.fws.gov/ventura/es/SSOrecplan/seaotter_index.html
Thanks,
Jim Curland, Marine Program Associate
Defenders of Wildlife
LETTER FROM CONCERNED SCIENTISTS
December 8, 2005
Diane Noda
Field Supervisor
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office
2493 Portola Road, Suite B
Ventura, California 93003-7726
Dear Diane Noda:
We applaud the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) preferred
alternative presented in the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement (DSEIS) on the translocation of southern sea otters. The
DSEIS represents an important and scientifically responsible step
toward successfully recovering the southern sea otter. In the final
SEIS and proposed regulations to implement it, we strongly urge the FWS
to implement the preferred alternative of terminating the Southern Sea
Otter translocation program, ending the no-otter management zone south
of Pt. Conception, and allowing the sea otters currently residing south
of Pt. Conception, including sea otters residing around San Nicholas
Island, to remain. This action will allow sea otters to move freely
and naturally expand their range, which will help ensure this species’
survival and recovery.
Historically, the southern sea otter could be found all along the
California coast and into Baja California, likely numbering 16,000 in
the 1800s. Fur traders then killed almost all southern sea otters, with
only a few dozen surviving in a remote cove off of Big Sur. They were
declared threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1977, and
today there are about 2,500 sea otters along our coast. Sea otters are
the classic example of a keystone species. Sea otters allow for a
natural check in the nearshore ecosystem by keeping populations of
invertebrate grazers, such as sea urchins, from overtaking the system
and denuding the kelp forests. The near-extinction of sea otters along
the California coast altered the coastal ecosystem; bringing back sea
otters throughout their range represents a critical step to restoring
coastal ecosystems—creating healthy kelp forests and diverse
populations of fish and invertebrate species.
In 1987, the FWS began a translocation program to establish a new
colony of southern sea otters on San Nicholas Island (SNI) in an
attempt to protect the species from a catastrophic event (e.g. oil
spill) and ultimately restore their dwindling numbers off the coast of
California. Out of the original 140 sea otters translocated from
1987-1990 to SNI, just over 30 remain at the island today. The others
either died or swam away and three years after the translocation
program ended in 1990, there were fewer than 25 sea otters at SNI.
While the population at SNI has shown some signs of recruitment, it is
far from the predicted viable population that FWS estimated at between
150-500 sea otters.
In addition, capturing and transporting sea otters tends to be
unsuccessful because typically the sea otter is harmed or simply swims
back to its initial location. For example, between 1987 and 1993, 24
sea otters were moved, 4 of those animals died. Also introducing a new
sea otter into an already existing group of sea otters may disrupt the
established social hierarchy of that group. Because moving sea otters
places them at risk, the FWS and the Southern Sea Otter Recovery Team
concluded that moving otters and impeding natural range expansion
southward is likely to jeopardize the species’ continued existence.
The southern sea otter translocation program has failed to meet its
objective of establishing a viable, independent colony of sea otters to
serve as a safeguard for the population, as a whole, in the event of a
natural or human-caused event. The recovery and management goals for
southern sea otters cannot be met by continuing the program. Given that
in the last ten years, the southern sea otter population has exhibited
periods of growth and decline, and is still listed as threatened under
the ESA, we are especially pleased to see the FWS recommendation to
both protect and allow the sea otters currently in the translocation
and management zones to remain. Implementation of the preferred
alternative in the DSEIS will ensure a sustainable sea otter population
and will allow sea otters to expand their range. We strongly urge you
to finalize the SEIS and implement the preferred alternative.
Sincerely,
Provide Name, Title, Affiliation
--
Jim Curland, Marine Program Associate
Defenders of Wildlife
P.O. Box 959
Moss Landing, CA. 95039
831-726-9010 (phone)
831-726-9020 (fax)
curland@earthlink.net
jcurland@defenders.org
Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native wild
animals and plants in their natural communities. We focus our
programs on what scientists consider two of the most serious
environmental threats to the planet: the accelerating rate of
extinction of species and the associated loss of biological diversity,
and habitat alteration and destruction. Long known for our
leadership on endangered species issues, Defenders of Wildlife also
advocates new approaches to wildlife conservation that will help
keep species from becoming endangered. Our programs encourage
protection of entire ecosystems and interconnected habitats while
protecting predators that serve as indicator species for ecosystem
health.
http://www.defenders.org
http://www.kidsplanet.org
http://www.defenders.org/wildlife/new/seaotters.html
(Defenders' Main Sea Otter Page)
http://www.kidsplanet.org/espanol/espint.html
(Defenders' Sea Otter Teaching Unit)
http://www.defenders.org/wildlife/new/marine.html
(Defenders' Marine Program Page)
http://www.defenders.org/california/marine.html
(Defenders' California Marine Program Page)