We’re busy planning the next stage of the Coastal Voices journey. This summer we are going to visit three communities that have experienced the return of sea otters in their territories for multiple decades. Our first stop will be in Kyuquot, where sea otters were introduced over 40 years ago on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. We have been invited by Tony Hanson, the fisheries manager for the Kyuquot-Cheklesaht First Nation, to host a community meeting in Kyuquot where we can share our short documentary film and engage in dialogue about how the community has experienced living with otters.
Our second visit will be in the communities of Port Graham and Nanwalek, Alaska, who have been living with sea otters for the past 60 years since they recovered in the area. We have been invited by Chiefs Pat Norman (Port Graham) and John Kvasnikoff (Nanwalek) to host community meetings and talk with people about their experience with sea otters.
We are also using information from the 2014 workshop dialogues to create a survey to examine the factors that enable and constrain people’s ability to adapt and co-exist with otters. Jenn Burt, has been looking through the workshop transcripts and working with Anne and the steering committee to draft the survey. Once we get final approval on the questions and layout, we’ll be excited to engage with people in the community and hear what they have to say.
