There are a few things that those responsible for the health of our waterways are watching. There’s the bacteria in stream and river samples, the number of benthic invertebrates (clams, worms, crustaceans) in the mud and river bottoms, and the presence of the best-loved—maybe the only-loved—member of the weasel family.
We think of otters as being cute and playful, but they also have a certain exalted status, said Claire Sanderson of the Rivanna River Conservation Alliance. “They’re an apex predator, so they depend on the health of all the organisms lower down the food chain.” That’s why the Alliance has kicked off RROMP (Rivanna River Otter Monitoring Program). They’re asking area residents to report otter sightings, whether in the Rivanna or in a small streams or farm ponds in the Western Albemarle headwaters, including Lickinghole Creek, Beaver Creek, and the Mechums River, which start near Crozet and flow eastward toward the Rivanna, and help determine the health of its water.
Sanderson said the unique resourcefulness and flexibility of otters, animals who are far from fussy about where they eat or where they sleep, means they can pop up almost anywhere. “We had a river monitor who found a pup near Hollymead Town Center in Charlottesville.” Sanderson said. “It swam right over to her until it realized its mistake.”…