Dear Colleagues,

Many of you are familiar with The River Otter Journal, especially those of you in the North American River Otter Specialist Group. This journal was published from the Fall of 1991 to the winter of 2013 by volunteers with The River Otter Alliance. The loss of this publication left a void in the North American river otter scientific and conservation publications. I conducted an internet search in an attempt to locate and download the historical issues of the Journal but, this was not successful. Therefore, I collected hard and digital copies of the Journal from colleagues and reproduced them. These issues are now available on the IUCN Otter Specialist Group website through the following hyperlink: https://riverotter journal.org.

It is the opinion of various IUCN Otter Specialist Group members, such as Tom Serfass, Nicole Duplaix, and Arno Gutleb, that a publication comparable to The River Otter Journal should be created and published. I have taken on the responsibility to create this publication and have recently completed the layout of the publication. I am also the editor. The title of this publication is the North American Otter Chronicles. The IUCN Otter Specialist Group has committed to host the Chronicles on their Bulletin website. The intent and content of the Chronicles will be similar to The River Otter Journal. There is one major difference. The Chronicles is a resource for  all three species of otters in North America-the sea otter (Enhydra lutris), the North American river otter (Lontra canadensis), and the neotropical otter (Lontra longicaudis) not just Lontra canadensis. Your participation is critical.

So, what participation am I requesting of North American otter scientists? I am requesting your help by offering articles, information, and suggestions to help ensure the Chronicles becomes a popular scientific resource. I am also hoping you will review The River Otter Journal issues to get a feel for the types of article subjects that would be accepted by the Chronicles. Currently the IUCN is assisting me with the creation of the North American Otter Chronicles website. This will be the resource you will use to get information for submitting your requests for publication and to review the contents of all issues via author and subject.

Best regards,

Victor L. Camp, Editor

North American Otter Chronicles

12 January 2022