Stealth bill H.R.4043, or as we like to call it S.O.S (Sacrifice Otters for Shellfish), will be discussed by members of the House Natural Resources committee.

If successful, H.R. 4043 will create more bureaucratic red tape, pander to a small but vocal minority within the fishing community and essentially trade the future of California sea otter recovery for sushi topping.

In short, fishing industry lobbyists have been successful in adding their interests to a military readiness bill that protects their profit margins and allows for the failed “No-Otter” Zone policy to continue.

Over 22 million people live in Southern California. Do we really want the future health of 300 miles of California coastline to be exploited by a group of less than a few hundred people who are interested solely in short term profits?

It is crucial that we tell our elected representatives that the health of sea otters and the health of the California coastline is not for sale.

Sea otters must be allowed to continue their natural range expansion south of Point Conception without interference.

The good news is that with only 5 minutes of your time – you can lend your voice to this important cause. Simply go the home page and complete the Popvox web form before 4/19/12 to ensure that sea otters have a voice in Washington.

Want to help sea otter recovery efforts even further? Visit http://www.otterproject.org/ to register your tax deductible donation.

The good news for otter fans is that in a reversal of fortunes from the 1st Ventura meeting, supporters of preferred alternative 3c (which would see an end to the “No-Otter” Zone) showed up in larger numbers than representatives from the commercial fishing industry.

In a fantastic turn of events, only 1 dissenting voice spoke from a small group representing the fishing community attended the Santa Cruz hearing, while comments in support of removing the “No-Otter” Zone were heard from more than 20 speakers.

One testimony in particular that moved the crowd in Santa Cruz included the story of a former commercial urchin fisherman who had changed industries due to his belief that the practice was not environmentally sustainable.

At the end of the 3 public hearings, support for pursuing preferred alternative 3c outnumbered opposition from the fishing community at 2 of the 3 meetings. While this is a fantastic result – the battle is far from over.

It is imperative that supporters of sea otters continue to voice their concerns about the zone before the Monday, Oct 24 deadline (12:00pm EST).

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has made available to the public a fast and easy way to electronically send written comments on the proposed rule and associated environmental documents.

Make sure to visit our resources page if you’re unclear about what to comment on or for formatting ideas about composing your letter.

When you’re ready to submit, just follow these easy steps:

1. Go to the www.regulations.gov webpage to submit comments. Please note there is a 20 minute time limit for this page so we suggest writing your comments first. Fill in the required information form. Then, you can upload your document (pdf preferred) or you can copy and paste your comments in the comment box. For an example of what to include in your comment box, read our issues page.

2. When you are done, make sure you click Submit!

Remember – Monday, Oct 24, 12:00pm EST is the cutoff. You MUST get your comments into the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before this date.

Approximately 30-40 people made it out to the meeting, with representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) providing a platform for various members of the community to speak on the “No-Otter” Zone issue. As expected, members of the local commercial fishing community showed up to voice their opposition to the removal of the zone.

The Good News
Some passionate speakers made their way to the microphone to give their support to preferred alternative 3c, that would see the removal of the “No-Otter” Zone in California and instating protection for otters between Point Conception and the Mexico Border under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The Bad News
We need more support from concerned citizens at the public hearings! If the Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara meetings are to be successful in sending a strong message to the USFWS, we simply need more people to show up and make their voices heard.

How YOU can help
Going into the Santa Barbara hearing on October 4 and the Santa Cruz hearing on Oct 6, we need the following commitment from you:

1. Attend the public hearing and bring at least 2 supporters with you.
2. Speak in favor of preferred alternative 3c at the meeting. For those nervous about public speaking – have no fear – written comments can be submitted at the hearing and will be give the same weighting as the comments from those who choose to speak.

Visit our Get Involved page to see how you can help bring an end to the “No-Otter” Zone in California.

Add these dates to your calendar…
Tuesday, October 4th
Fleischman Auditorium
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
2559 Puesta del Sol
Santa Barbara CA 93105

Thursday, October 6th
La Feliz Room
Seymour Marine Discovery Center Long Marine Lab
100 Shaffer Rd
Santa Cruz CA 05060

Otters at Morro Rock - photo courtesy of Mike L. Baird, bairdphotos.com

On Friday, August 26, 2011, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) opened the 60 day public comment period on their proposal to end the 24-year-old southern sea otter translocation program and to abolish the otter management zone. This is the direct result of a 2009 lawsuit brought by The Otter Project and Environmental Defense Center (EDC) against the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for their inaction to evaluate the success or failure of its rule barring otters from southern California waters.

In a 2010 settlement agreement, the FWS agreed to release the Revised Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) before September 1, 2011 with their preferred decision.

The FWS is proposing to remove the regulations that govern southern sea otters and allow their range to naturally expand into southern California waters. The program failed to achieve its intended purpose and FWS sea otter recovery and management goals cannot be achieved by continuing the program. Public comments are now being accepted on the proposed rule, associated Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), and Revised Draft SEIS.

To learn more about this issue go to www.otterproject.org.

To learn how you can Take Action on the “No-Otter” Zone and let your voice be heard, go to www.freetheotters.org. Also find us on Facebook for announcements about our Free The Otters campaign.

Morro Bay Otters - photo courtesy of Mike L. Baird, bairdphotos.com

Monterey, California – As a direct result of a 2009 lawsuit against the US Fish and Wildlife Service  (FWS) brought by The Otter Project and Environmental Defense Center (EDC), FWS released a statement today proposing to end the 24-year-old southern sea otter translocation program and to abolish the otter management zone. This will allow sea otters to establish themselves in southern California waters. In a 2010 settlement agreement, the FWS agreed to release the Revised Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) before September 1, 2011 with their preferred decision. That document, released today, includes a finding that the “no otter zone” has been a failure and should be discontinued.

“We are ecstatic that the FWS is proposing to remove the regulations that govern the southern sea otter translocation program and allow sea otters to expand their home range back into southern California,” said Brad Hunt, Program Manager of the Otter Project.

“It is gratifying that the Service finally has concluded, after more than 24 years of failure, that the “No-Otter” Zone experiment should come to an end,” said Brian Segee, staff attorney at EDC. “This is exactly what we hoped for when we filed the suit,” said Steve Shimek, Executive Director of The Otter Project. “We have already heard reports of otter sightings in the Santa Barbara Channel, which we hope will become commonplace in the years ahead.”

In the late 1980s the US Fish and Wildlife Service moved otters from northern California to San Nicolas Island off southern California in an effort to safeguard the population from a catastrophic oil spill.  The Southern California petroleum industry, shellfish fishermen, and the Department of Defense objected to the move and as a result, all of southern California with the exception of San Nicolas Island was declared out-of-bounds to otters. Stray otters were to be non-lethally trapped and moved north. Many otters died as a result of the original move to San Nicholas and more died in the trapping efforts.

“Both the translocation and the ‘No-Otter’ Zone have failed the sea otter,” said Steve Shimek, executive director of the Otter Project. “Of the 140 otters moved to San Nicolas, there are only about 50 around the Island today. A handful of sea otters are living peacefully along the mainland Santa Barbara coast. We can’t expect sea otters to recognize a pretend water boundary. It’s time to legalize these otters!”

The “Sea Otter” Revised Draft Supplemental Environment Impact Statement and the “No-Otter” Zone will be the subject of public hearings in early October. The Otter Project believes the no-otter zone is impractical and inhibits sea otter recovery. “There are only 2700 sea otters where there were once around 12,000.  Ending the no-otter zone will be a major step forward towards a positive, long-term solution for the recovery of the sea otters,” said Shimek. Sound science shows that otters must be able to spread their small numbers to avoid their near-extinction population from being wiped out by local pollution or oil spills.

Timeline:

On September 9, 2009 the Environmental Defense Center (EDC), on behalf of The Otter Project, filed suit to put an end the “No-Otter” Zone and restoring protections to otters south of Point Conception. [See Press Release at: www.edcnet.org/news/PressReleases/09-09-30.pdf]. While both organizations were fully committed to following through on the case, both hoped that its filing will prompt the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to take action rather than fight in the courts.

On May 6, 2010, a federal judge denied a motion to dismiss the case, finding that the FWS has a duty to evaluate the success of failure of its rule barring otters from southern California waters. [See Press Release at: www.edcnet.org/news/PressReleases/10-05-06.pdf].

On November 22, 2010, EDC and The Otter Project entered into a settlement agreement with the FWS requiring it to take certain actions required prior to terminating the failed “No-Otter” Zone rule. [See Press Release at: www.edcnet.org/news/PressReleases/10-11-22.pdf].

Today: FWS announced that it has completed the actions and made the findings required by the settlement [See Press Release at: http://www.fws.gov/cno/press/release.cfm?rid=253]. This enables the FWS to comply with the terms of the settlement which now require a public comment on the proposed rule, completion of a final Environmental Impact Statement and final failure determination by December 7, 2012.