{"id":229944,"date":"2025-10-16T21:27:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T21:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/229944\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T21:27:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T21:27:10","slug":"california-sea-otters-could-face-new-threats-if-trump-weakens-law-for-endangered-animals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/229944\/","title":{"rendered":"California Sea Otters Could Face New Threats if Trump Weakens Law for Endangered Animals"},"content":{"rendered":"

What this would mean for Elkhorn Slough, the only estuary along the West Coast where sea otters have significantly colonized, won\u2019t be known until after the final rule is released.<\/p>\n

However, wildlife advocates and scientists argue that protecting species and their environments go hand in hand. While the sea otters have helped stabilize marshland and promote eelgrass growth, ultimately mitigating some of the worst effects of human-caused climate change.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, April Ridlon, director of science for the U.S. Ocean Conservation Program at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, said otters rely on the living ecosystem for their survival.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they don\u2019t have anything to eat, we can pick up, feed and nurture otters, and release them as much as we want, but if the ecosystems they\u2019re going back to are degraded they\u2019re not going to fare well,\u201d Ridlon said.<\/p>\n

Federal wildlife officials published a proposal in the Federal Register that said they are \u201cundertaking this change to adhere to the single, best meaning\u201d of the Endangered Species Act. A federal spokesperson told KQED they would not \u201cspeculate\u201d on how sea otters would be affected.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of thousands of comments<\/p>\n

Over 350,000 responses flooded in during the public comment period that ended in May. Of the thousands of comments from Californians, the majority opposed the rule change. Some groups labeled it an act of \u201cinsanity,\u201d while others argued that maintaining the current definition is \u201cvital protection for endangered species.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than a dozen museums, aquariums and wildlife groups sent a joint letter to the federal government strongly urging the withdrawal<\/a> of the proposed rule. They note that \u201chabitat destruction is the greatest driver of species extinction\u201d and removing harm from the definition \u201cruns contrary to the intent of the\u201d act.<\/p>\n

\"\"Kayakers paddle through Elkhorn Slough as a sea otter floats nearby. Conservationists warn that proposed rollbacks to Endangered Species Act protections could threaten the species\u2019 recovery. (Gustavo Hernandez\/KQED)<\/p>\n

Comments from supporters argued, on the other hand, that scaling back enforcement would address a \u201clongstanding obstacle that has blocked countless necessary projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

At least 40 supporters \u2014 including major farm organizations and water agencies \u2014 wrote a letter arguing regulators\u2019 interpretation of the act is too broad<\/a> and has resulted in the slowing, halting, or blocking of \u201cactivities that are critical to sustain the economic livelihoods of private landowners, farmers, ranchers, water users,\u201d and rural communities. They wrote that projects are often tied up in expensive lawsuits, excessive permitting, even in areas where endangered species may no longer live.<\/p>\n

Ian Lyle, director of federal relations for the Association of California Water Agencies, argues the change would pave the way for developing water infrastructure \u2014 everything from desalination to new storage to water recycling \u2014 in a way that \u201cbalances the needs of species with the needs of California and communities in the face of climate resilience needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kari Fisher, senior director and counsel of the California Farm Bureau Federation, which represents hundreds of farmers, told KQED that farmers care about wildlife, and if there\u2019s a concern about a species, that would still be addressed. But said the change could pave the way for growers and species to coexist, \u201cas well as economic prosperity for farmers and ranchers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018The poster child for top predators\u2019<\/p>\n

Fur traders hunted sea otters almost to extinction during the 18th and 19th centuries, and in California, their numbers dwindled to around 50.<\/p>\n

Today, there are more than 3,000 sea otters in California, and they\u2019re \u201call descendants of those incredible tough survivors that managed to evade the fur trade,\u201d Bentall said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Two sea otters swim in the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve near Moss Landing, California, as an electric-powered catamaran wildlife tour passes in the background on Sept. 16, 2025. (Gustavo Hernandez\/KQED)<\/p>\n

The resurgence of the furry animals is a testament to the restoration efforts of wildlife officials, environmental protections, and organizations like the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which rehabilitate sea otters and release them into Elkhorn Slough and other conservation areas.<\/p>\n

Sea otters still face risks, such as white sharks that bite and kill them, mistaking them for seals. Bentall said the prevalence of sharks along the California coast is one reason the species has had trouble extending its home range.<\/p>\n

The other issue is the loss of around 95%<\/a> of Northern California\u2019s kelp forests, where sea otters historically found refuge and foraged for crabs, abalone, snails and other food. Human-caused climate change, warming the Pacific Ocean, has led to urchin outbreaks<\/a> and declining sea star populations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What this would mean for Elkhorn Slough, the only estuary along the West Coast where sea otters have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":229945,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":{"0":"post-229944","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}