Sign in Support of Bringing Sea Otters Back to the Oregon Coast

From Environment America (https://environmentamerica.org/):

Sea otters have been missing from the Oregon coast for generations after nearly being hunted to extinction more than a hundred years ago.¹ That’s a big loss for Oregon’s ecosystem and a disaster for the ocean, since sea otters play a key role in preserving kelp forests.

We are launching a new campaign to build support for bringing sea otters back to the Oregon coast. Sign our statement of support at https://environmentamerica.webaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=44536.

Like the gray wolves that famously changed the ecology of Yellowstone National Park when reintroduced in 1995, sea otters are a keystone species. They eat sea urchins and help to maintain balance in the kelp ecosystem.

Without otters around to keep the spiny marine animals in check, sea urchins will mow down kelp forests and create a kind of wasteland called an “urchin barren.” This is happening at an alarming rate off the Oregon coast.² A 2019 study found 350 million purple sea urchins in one reef alone, a more than 10,000 percent increase since 2014.³ This situation is made worse by climate change: Sunflower sea stars, the other natural predator of the purple sea urchin, died in droves from a disease made worse by warming waters, leaving kelp defenseless.⁴

It’s time to bring sea otters back to Oregon.

Take a minute to sign our statement of support for bringing sea otters back to the Oregon coast.

Fortunately, there may soon be a proposal before the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to reintroduce sea otters to the Oregon coast. Bringing back sea otters can help bolster the endangered species, rein in purple sea urchins and restore the health of kelp forest ecosystems.

Sign our statement of support and show decision makers that you support bringing sea otters back.

1. Melinda Jette, “Sea Otter,” Oregon Historical Society, 2003.
2. “Sea urchin population soars 10,000% in five years, devastating US coastline,” The Guardian, October 24, 2019.
3. “Sea urchins are chomping their way through Oregon coast kelp, ‘uncharted territory’ for marine ecosystem,” The Oregonian, October 24, 2019.
4. Rebecca Hersher, “Massive starfish die-off is tied to global warming,” NPR, January 30, 2019.