An 'otter' success for New Mexico restoration project – Santa Fe New Mexican

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A river otter is released into the Rio Grande. Between 2008 and 2010, about 33 river otters from were reintroduced into the Rio Pueblo de Taos. By 2021, they numbered between 83 and 100 and had been spotted from Corrales to Angel Fire.
In 2021, a group of Louisiana river otters were released into the Rio Grande to diversify the species’ genetic pool. Like their marine counterparts, river otters are apex predators, dining on crayfish, frogs and fish. Courtesy New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
Trapper Ryan Schaefer unloads an otter crate in 2021.
An otter crate is loaded onto Jack Long’s plane in 2021. Long flew the otters from Louisiana to Taos with the nonprofit LightHawk, which organizes conservation flights. The nonprofit schedules around 25 wildlife transports per year.

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A river otter is released into the Rio Grande. Between 2008 and 2010, about 33 river otters from were reintroduced into the Rio Pueblo de Taos. By 2021, they numbered between 83 and 100 and had been spotted from Corrales to Angel Fire.
When Nick Forman was a kid, his chore was picking up dog poop.
Years later, he’s still collecting scat, this time for a paycheck.
“It’s the worst chore in the world,” said Forman, who collects and analyzes river otter poop for the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, where he manages the small carnivore and mammal program.
When Jack Long was a college student, his job was pumping fuel into airplanes so he could be close to his dream of becoming a pilot.
Today, Long, who lives in Austin, Texas, is living his dream and helping Forman realize his.
Their stories merged in 2021, when Long flew a cargo of river otters from Louisiana to Taos, where they were released into the Rio Grande to bring genetic diversity to some Puget Sound otters brought here as a restoration project.
Like their marine counterparts, river otters are apex predators, dining on crayfish, frogs and fish. Part of the weasel family, river otters are smaller than sea otters but still 3 to 4 feet long with razor-sharp teeth.
Before Western expansion, “you probably had otters in most any water body that could hold fish,” Forman said. But their lush, dense fur made them an attractive target during the height of the fur trade. Along with unregulated trapping, habitat degradation caused river otters to disappear from New Mexico in the early 20th century and shrank their once-expansive range around the United States.
In 2021, a group of Louisiana river otters were released into the Rio Grande to diversify the species’ genetic pool. Like their marine counterparts, river otters are apex predators, dining on crayfish, frogs and fish. Courtesy New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
Between 2008 and 2010, about 33 river otters from Puget Sound were reintroduced into the Rio Pueblo de Taos. By 2021, they numbered between 83 and 100 and had been spotted from Corrales to Angel Fire.
River otters can travel on land, especially when there’s snow, Forman said.
“For me, that tells me that our otter population, it’s not just doing well, but it’s starting to explore outside of the normal bounds that we’ve seen them,” Forman said. “The past 10 years, they’re starting to expand where we’re seeing them which, for me, tells that the population is still growing.”
But New Mexico’s otter population, while growing, lacked genetically diversity. Enter Louisiana, which exports river otters for restoration efforts; the nonprofit LightHawk, which organizes conservation flights, and Long, the volunteer pilot.
Long, a self-described “child of the Apollo moonshot generation,” thought flying was the next-best thing to becoming an astronaut. In college he worked at an airport, fueling planes to fund his flight classes.
He bought a plane in 2008, and began volunteering with LightHawk in 2011.
Since his first trip transporting a rare orange-breasted falcon to Belize, Long estimates he’s made more than 50 trips for LifeHawk. He said the 2021 flight to Taos was unusual for a few reasons: It was the first time he’d transported aquatic animals. And, they weren’t endangered like the birds and wolves LightHawk usually transports.
The nonprofit schedules around 230 flights per year, including approximately 25 wildlife transports.
Trapper Ryan Schaefer unloads an otter crate in 2021.
Long and his wife are avid conservationists involved with The Nature Conservancy. In that sense, LightHawk helped Long scratch “two itches” at once — conservation and flight.
“You could just get in the plane and fly to some other town that has a restaurant near the airport and fly back just to scratch your flying itch,” Long said. Flying for LightHawk gives the trip a purpose.
Wildlife transports take hours, Long said, and each flight can cost thousands of dollars.
Forman was present when some of the otters were released. The first batch didn’t want to leave their boxes, but the second shot into the water.
An otter crate is loaded onto Jack Long’s plane in 2021. Long flew the otters from Louisiana to Taos with the nonprofit LightHawk, which organizes conservation flights. The nonprofit schedules around 25 wildlife transports per year.
Despite videos showing otters’ playful side, Forman respects them.
“You can never tell with a weasel or an otter. …They’re so smart and super curious. At the same time, they’re a 30-40 pound animal, 3 feet long, with super-sharp teeth for chomping down on fish,” he said. Every year, otters attack fishermen, kayakers and swimmers across the United States.
Forman said the population is likely still growing and continues to spread. He’s received a half-dozen emails in recent weeks from people spotting otters at Cochiti Lake and Red River.
Although the department has successfully reintroduced the species to fill its historic role in the ecosystem, Forman is still collecting and examining otter poop to track the species’ progress and perhaps set new goals.
For now, Forman said, it’s nice to see otters back in New Mexico.
“It’s a cool thing that we’ve been able to bring this back and people are really enjoying the fact that they’re out there. It’s just good to also have them play their natural role.”
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