NEAFWA 2018

AUTHORS: Kelly Powers, Dr. Jacqueline Frair - SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY; Andrew MacDuff, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Region 6

ABSTRACT. The river otter population in central New York State (NYS) was reduced to marginal numbers in the mid-twentieth century due to a combination of habitat loss, pollution, and unregulated harvest. In the 1990s, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) partnered with the non-profit River Otter Project to translocation ~280 river otter from healthy populations in the Adirondack and Catskills regions to areas across central NYS. To assess the current status of river otter in central NYS, we used a NYSDEC database of river otter detections (track, sign, roadkill) after the translocation (from 2001-2012) to assess the probability of occurrence of river otter in the translocation area. Environmental characteristics that are believed to affect river otter habitat selection (shoreline density, road density, land cover type (forest/agriculture), local elevation, and percent slope) were defined using GIS layers. The characteristics at the location of each roadkill otter in the dataset were extrapolated using the R package “maxlike” and used to produce a map delineating the probability of otter occurrence across central NYS. This map was validated using data from the NYSDEC’s regional track and sign surveys that are occurring across NYS, and is being utilized to help guide future DEC surveys. An experimental camera trap study was deployed during 2016 & 2017 to test if it was possible to use cameras in lieu of surveys to obtain data on otter occupancy of an area, however it was not met with much success. With the combination of these studies, we are aiming to achieve a realistic snapshot of the river otter population in central NYS.