OGDEN — College students at Weber State University are searching the Weber River for otters to track the elusive species’ migration and population.
Weber State zoology professor Michele Skopec and a team of 10 students are surveying local waterways to learn about North American river otters and migration paths. The researchers spend every other week setting up cameras and lures along the Weber River in the hopes of capturing footage of the animals.
Because river otters travel up to 60 miles a day, the team has been changing camera locations every two weeks to increase their chances of finding the otters. Zoology major and lead student researcher Rossetta Chen said the otters could be near ponds or lakes as they prefer deep, still water.
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Students from Weber State University’s College of Science set up cameras along the Weber River in Morgan County on Nov. 18 as part of a project to monitor river otter populations. (Photo: Benjamin Zack, Weber State University)
“(Otters) are mostly out at night and they have such a wide range that they go all over the place,” she said. Otters can also be difficult to track as they use other animals, such as beavers, whose dens they can steal, she said.
The researchers have gone out five times to set up the cameras in different spots and have collected hundreds of hours of footage to search through. They hope to be able to track where the otters in Utah are living, to determine how the population is faring.
Chen didn’t realize Utah even had otters. River otters are native to Utah but, in the late 1800s, the species almost went extinct due to high amounts of trapping and hunting for the fur trade, she said.
Conservation laws were implemented to protect the species after it was classified as rare in the 1890s, a press release from Weber State states. Otters have been released into the Provo River in years past with the hopes of boosting the population and the university project seeks to figure out how the animals are doing and if more releases or conservation is necessary.
“It’s really just about trying to find them right now,” she said, adding that the animals can be quite elusive.
Sightings and video footage of otters give researchers a way to collect information on the location and distribution of the species. This data can give insight on how to create management plans for the creatures’ population and conservation.
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“There’s a lot to learn about river otters’ culture and behavior,” Chen said. “We can’t have conservation laws without knowing more about the population.”
So far, however, Chen’s team hasn’t spotted any otters.
Students from Weber State University’s College of Science set up cameras along the Weber River in Morgan County on Nov. 18 as part of a project to monitor river otter populations. (Photo: Benjamin Zack, Weber State University)
“Even if we don’t, that’s important because then that means maybe the river is not doing well or we need a boost in population. It’s still useful even if we find other animals,” Chen said.
The researchers will help to asses the health of ecosystems, as otters are an indicator species — a species whose presence signals a thriving ecosystem, Chen said. Otters require a lot of food and they don’t do well if the river is polluted, she added.
“Because they’re so dependent on a good environment, if they are missing or they are not doing well, that’s an early sign the river isn’t doing well in general,” she said. “There’s a lot we don’t know about river otters, especially Utah river otters.”
Chen explained all otters have their own cultures, different ways of learning and regional behaviors.
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“We don’t know what Utah river otter culture is or their specific behaviors, so there still is a lot we would benefit from knowing about them,” she said.
Chen hopes the project will continue because there are plenty more rivers to research. She wants other colleges to join in the project so a broader area can be covered. The team also gets a lot of information from anglers who report otter signs and sightings.
Britnee Cheney, an expert at the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium in Draper, started an otter conservation project in 2022. She started surveying the Provo River and her team spotted six otters last year. The aquarium team now surveys the Strawberry River, but it still works closely with Chen’s team and they both share findings with each other.
“Our goal is to get more information about where otters are located, how they’re doing and how many there are,” Cheney said. “That way, we can figure out what they may need from us in the future.”
Research findings are also shared with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, so the department can better help manage the species, improve struggling ecosystems and maintain healthy ecosystems.
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Chen said research on animals helps people better understand the world in which they live.
“We don’t often get to see most of the animals out in the wild and there’s a lot we don’t know. So it’s like that genuine human curiosity and just understanding what’s out there and why animals do the things they do. Because back in the day we used to not believe animals were intelligent or had personalities, but it’s been way more widely accepted that these are things to research about,” she said.
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Cassidy Wixom covers Utah County communities and is the evening breaking news reporter for KSL.com.
Lance Holtzclaw has found a new home. The former Washington edge rusher entered the transfer portal after three years on Montlake and has signed with one of the Huskies’ former Pac-12 opponents, the Utah Utes.
Now in the Big 12, coach Kyle Whittingham’s team should be a good fit for the 6-foot-3, 225-pound pass rush specialist, which finished third in the conference in total defense, allowing 329.7 yards per game in its first year in the conference.
The Utes also finished fifth in the conference with 24 sacks, a statistic that Holtzclaw may be able to assist with if he can see the field more often.
In three years with the Huskies, the former three-star recruit who is originally from Dorchester, Massachusetts, played in 26 games and tallied 13 tackles, 2 sacks, and a fumble recovery.
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Holtzclaw’s most notable moment in a Husky uniform came in Washington’s 26-21 win over the USC Trojans in November. He came in on fourth down and pressured quarterback Miller Moss, forcing an errant throw in the game’s final seconds. He also completes an effective defensive line trade between the two schools, after the Huskies added a commitment from former Utah defensive tackle Simote Pepa last week.
The homecoming party is underway for JJ Mandaquit and his island brothers at Utah Prep.
Mandaquit had five points and four assists, while AJ Dybantsa clutched up for 21 points, five rebounds and four assists as Utah Prep edged Brewster Academy (N.H.) 45-43 to capture the ‘Iolani Prep Classic championship on Saturday night.
“I’m just happy we got the win. Before the game, our coach told us that a lot of teams that won this in the past are NBA players, so it means a lot,” said Dybantsa, who wore a blue BYU shirt post game. “Go Cougs.”
He was named the tournament most valuable player after 57 points, 27 rebounds and 17 assists in three games.
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Ebuka Okorie of Brewster Academy was named the most outstanding player. Joining them on the all-tournament team: Tanoa Scanlan, Punahou; Jordan Smith, St. Paul VI (Va.); RJ Smith, Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia); Colben Landrew, Wheeler (Ga.); Donovan Williams, Deondrea Lindsey of Oak Hill (Va.); Juan Guerrero Hernandez Jr and Rayane Solhi of Veritas Academy (Calif.); Killyan Toure and Sebastian Wilkins of Brewster; Anthony Felesi and JJ Mandaquit of Utah Prep.
Jackson Kiss added seven points in a defensive battle that required Utah Prep (13-4) to rally from an early six-point deficit.
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Ohio State-bound Killyan Toure led Brewster (12-2) with 10 points. Darien Moore added seven.
Down 45-43, Brewster got the ball with nine seconds remaining and one timeout available. After Utah Prep gave a foul, Brewster inbounded with 5.6 seconds left at midcourt. Toure drew a double team on what looked like a possible 20-foot runner at the right wing, but he delivered a pass to a wide-open Preston Fowler, who missed the potential game-winner as time expired.
Brewster was cohesive from the start, opening a 17-11 lead on Ebuka Okorie’s and-1 drive early in the second quarter. Utah Prep rallied with a 7-0 run, taking the lead on a pull-up, straightaway 3 by Dybantsa.
The Bobcats responded with a 9-2 run. Toure blew past his defender for a lefty layup, Sebastian Wilkins swished a straightaway 3 and Moore sent a bounce pass to Toure on a backdoor cut for a resounding dunk. After Wilkins scored inside, Brewster led 26-20 with 1:31 left in the first half.
Ater Bol Meen’s corner 3 opened the lead to 29-21 going into the break.
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Utah Prep, settling for isolation jumpers, shot 42% from the field in the first half. In the second quarter, they were 33% (3-for-9). The most telling number: one offensive rebound in the first 16 minutes.
Dybantsa had 11 points, four boards, one assist and one turnover by intermission. He was not deterred. He splashed a corner 3 to start the second half, and after Kiss realized the shot clock was running out and nailed a 3, Utah Prep was within 33-27.
Jackson Rasmussen’s old-school low-post bucket cut the lead to four, 33-29.
After a Dybantsa free throw and a Mandaquit dish to Kiss for a tough layup, Utah Prep was within 33-32. Brewster tried to withstand the barrage. Okorie drove for a tough basket, but Dybantsa was relentless, drawing contact and sinking two free throws.
His next drive for a bucket gave Utah Prep the lead, 36-35, with 27 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Rasmussen surprised his defender, taking a pass from Dybantsa and exploding to the rim for a layup.
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With Brewster ice cold from the perimeter, Dybantsa scored on a tough 10-foot runner in the lane, drawing a foul. His free throw missed, but Utah Prep’s lead was 40-35 with 5:56 left.
The Utah Jazz beat the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center with a final score of 105-94.
For the pro-tank Jazz fans, these type of games hurt. With this win, the Jazz move out of the bottom-three worst records in the league and would now fall behind the Nets in the lottery, should their records tie at the end of the season (pending Brooklyn’s visit to Utah on January 12th). With that said, losing this game would have proven difficult for Utah, as the Nets shot a shocking 7-40 from three, versus Utah’s 14-41. That type of three-point shooting discrepancy is almost insurmountable for any team in the NBA today.
The Jazz were led tonight by Lauri Markkanen’s 21 points and seven rebounds. Collin Sexton chipped in 18 points on 8-14 shooting, while Jordan Clarkson added another 16 points on 6-12 from the field. With Cody Williams and Kyle Filipowski both assigned out due to G-League assignments, Utah’s rotation featured some less-frequented veteran faces. Svi Mykhailiuk pitched in 18 points tonight on 7-11 shooting from the field and 4-8 shooting from three. Micah Potter, while only given nine minutes, scored three points, grabbed two rebounds, and dished out two assists. While both Williams and Filipowski playing more minutes in the G-League does offer some developmental value, a game like tonight would have been a great opportunity to involve them more in the offense, rather than having players like Mykhailiuk eat up playing time. Hopefully the Jazz call up both sooner than later.
For the Nets, Cam Johnson led their team in scoring with 18 points. Ben Simmons offered a double-double, scoring 15 points and nabbing 10 rebounds.
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