RECORDING Virtual Professional Speaker Series - Megan Isadore 'River Otter Ecology Project'

Listen to a recording of the event which occurred on January 27, 2021 here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1taRcSiXVDgKmLhPtuyoqcpKluwM613yL/view?usp=sharing

River otters (Lontra canadensis) are among the come-back kids in the Bay Area, benefiting from many of the processes and policies we put in place 50 and more years ago. And yet before we began our project, it was largely unknown that they had begun to recover after being missing for decades. Megan will talk about changing the range map for river otters in California using community science (some call it citizen science). Why we began doing it, what we learned along the way, what our goals were and how they changed, and to whom the information we gain matters.  If possible, we’ll be very interactive and have lots of time for questions.

MEGAN ISADORE Co-Founder, Executive Director   I’m all about conservation based on science, community, and public education. I graduated from the College of William & Mary with a degree in English, never suspecting I would spend my career in one kind of science or another. I began as a medical writer, then produced continuing medical education programs and publications in medical risk management. After moving to Marin in 1998, I turned my attention to watershed ecology while working with the critically endangered coho salmon of Lagunitas Creek. The intensity and beauty of salmonid lives led me to an abiding interest in watershed ecology. After beginning to delve into the webs of inter-relations that make up our beloved watershed ecosystem, river otters swam into my view in Lagunitas Creek. River otters as the flagship species for conservation are a natural fit. Their charm, playfulness, and their remarkable ability to touch hearts are among the many attributes that make them ideal ambassadors for watershed conservation and wetland restoration.