On Thursday January 22, 2026, at 2:00 pm Professor Tom Serfass presents “Reintroducing River Otters” at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, WV. The historic range of the playful and intelligent North American river otter included much of the North American continent, from arctic Alaska and northern Canada to the southern United States. However, overharvest and perturbations to aquatic environments contributed to the otter’s decline and complete or partial extirpations in many states. The river otter has recovered in many areas, largely facilitated by a combination of reintroduction projects involving 22 states, improvements in aquatic habitat quality, and the natural expansion of native populations. Tom Serfass will review the history and processes followed for reintroduction projects, update the overall conservation status of river otters in North America, and review the potential for river otters to serve as “flagships” for promoting aquatic conservation.”
Dr. Tom Serfass is a professor of wildlife ecology at Frostburg State University. His research and conservation activities have focused on the design, implementation, and evaluation of wildlife restoration programs and recovering wildlife populations. Tom conceived and coordinated the successful Pennsylvania River Otter (Lontra canadensis) and Fisher (Martes pennanti) Reintroduction Projects, and has authored over 40 journal, proceedings, popular articles, and book chapters dealing specifically about river otters, fishers, and wildlife reintroductions. During the past 14 years Tom has mentored the completion of 38 MS and PhD students, conducting research ranging from evaluating the fates of river otters reintroduced in western New York to assessing the natural history and conservation value of spotted-necked otters (Lutra maculicollis) and other wildlife at Rubondo Island National Park, Lake Victoria, Tanzania. Tom is the North American Coordinator of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources’ Otter Specialist Group.
This public talk is free and open to the public, no tickets are required. To register for an upcoming program, please email: NCTC-Lecture-Series@fws.gov and include the program date and names of attending adults.
This lecture will be recorded and available online.
These talks are a part of the NCTC Conservation Lecture Series, which is cosponsored by The Friends of the NCTC. For more information, please contact Mark Madison (304-876-7276) mark_madison@fws.gov