September 28, 2023 3:20 a.m.

The Umpqua Valley Audubon Society and the Roseburg Public Library are inviting the community to a presentation about sea otters on Wednesday October 11th at 6:30 p.m.

A City release said presenter Kyle Motley, coastal community coordinator of the Elakha Alliance, will discuss the group’s efforts to return the iconic and once abundant sea otter to the Oregon coast.

According to Motley, fur traders of the 18th and 19th centuries wiped out the sea otter along most of the Pacific West Coast, including Oregon. Motley said that Russian trappers valued the animal’s pelts so much they referred to the pelts as “soft gold”.

The Elakha Alliance, which derives its name from the Chinook trading language word for sea otter, is a group of tribal, conservation and nonprofit leaders founded in 1999 that is working to promote a healthier and more resilient marine environment. Learn more on the group’s website: www.elakhalliance.org

For more information about the program, call 492-7050.