SOAW: Sea Otters in Oregon – Road to Return Presentation (Coos Bay, OR)

Join us for an in-person presentation that’s free and open to the public at the Coos Bay Library on Thursday Sept 26th, from 7pm-8pm. Kyle Motley, Coastal Community Coordinator of the Elakha Alliance, will tell us about efforts to return an iconic and once abundant native species to the Oregon coast – the sea otter.

Fur traders of the 18^th and 19^th centuries wiped out the sea otter along most of the entire Pacific West Coast, including Oregon. Russian trappers valued their pelts so much they referred to them as “soft gold.” The Elakha Alliance, which derives its name from the Chinook trade-jargon-word for sea otter, is working to undo that damage and make for a more healthy marine environment. The alliance is a consortium of tribal, conservation and nonprofit leaders founded in 1999.  Kyle will tell us how their work to reintroduce the sea otter is so much more than just taking a group of sea otters from one place and moving them to Oregon.