The river otter was extirpated in the state of kansas by 1904 (frazier 2016)

The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks received a $312,787 formula grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service under the Wildlife Restoration and Basic Hunter Education and Safety program (CFDA 15.611), effective September 1, 2025, with a completion date of July 15, 2028. The award funds a comprehensive river otter population survey in Kansas to document the current distribution and status of the species in the southeastern portion of the state, where reintroduction efforts from neighboring Missouri have led to expanding populations. The survey will generate contemporary distribution data to inform furbearer management decisions and establish baseline information for monitoring river otter and other furbearer species populations across the affected watershed.

In addition to river otter monitoring, the survey will document relationships between furbearer species and native mussel communities within the watershed, providing integrated ecological data to support wildlife management planning. This project fulfills the Wildlife Restoration program's mandate to support state-level wildlife conservation and population monitoring initiatives by generating scientific data necessary for adaptive management of restored species and associated ecological communities in Kansas.

Successful reintroduction efforts of the species in missouri have led to rapid population increases locally and in neighboring states. The last comprehensive river otter survey conducted in kansas highlighted the prevalence of the species in the southeastern portion of the state (shardlow 2009). While FUR harvest data indicates populations could still be expanding (peek 2023) an updated survey would explicitly document the current status of the species in this part of the state. This survey will provide contemporary distribution data and provide data for furbearer management of this species and other furbearer species documented in surveys and describe relationships between furbearer species and native mussel communities of this watershed.