State

River oilers have returned to the waterways of western North Carolina. River Otters Make Comeback In Western N.C. The river otter, a lithe crit- ter with a cute lace that swims like a torpedo, has returned to the waterways of western North Carolina where it had all hut disap¬ peared for most of this cen¬ tury. Six years «I transplanta¬ tions have reestablished the versatile animal along 1 1 watersheds from Murphy to I litkory, according to state wildlife biologist Mike Carraway of Marion. Last March marked the linal install¬ ment of 258 otters that have been moved from the coast since 1989 and released into such rivers in the moun¬ tains as the Little Tennessee. North Гое. Iliwavsee, Broad. French Broad. Catawba. Yadkin. Nottlev and New. "On each river we tried to release at least 10 males and 10 females, so if you consider from /его to 20 otters, that’s quite an increase right there,” Carraway says. The river otter is larger than its like- shaped cousin, the mink. It can grow up to I feel long, with males weighing nearly 80 pounds. The otter steadily declined in numbers statewide during the 1700s and 1800s as a result ol unregulated hunting, trapping and log¬ ging — the latter activity clogging streams with silt. Before recent trans¬ plantations, the last confirmed river otter population in the mountains was reported out <»f the Great Smoky Mountains National Bark in 1985. Now, however, river otter sightings in western North Carolina are frequent. “We’ve even gone back to rivers where we’ve released otters three to four weeks ago and still find signs of them." Carraway says. "This makes us confident restoration has been success¬ ful." Carraway’s idea for transplanting otters first involved finding streams with suitable fish populations (the otter’s main staple) and habitat. I le dis¬ covered stream watei quality in the western part of the state had vastly improved in the last 20 years. Also, release points as far away from people and roads as possible had to be pin¬ pointed. Once target streams were determined, Carraway and another state biologist. Perry Sumner. began trapping coastal otters. Also, private trappers were encouraged to trap otters for the project at $100 a head. They were indoc¬ trinated on humane methods of trapping and transporting Otters. Publicity inspired private and corporate donations. Financial support came from the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, a conservation organization; the Tennessee Valley Authority; Duke Power. CP&L and the North Carolina Wildlife Federation among others. "The otter is a real popular animal; photogenic, playful, fun to watch.” Carraway says. “When people heard we were doing this, they wanted to help.” The animals were trapped humanely — constrained by small, swiveled leg holds — and then transported to a tem¬ porary holding depot in New Bern, where veterinarian Lucy Spelman of North Carolina State University volun¬ teered het services in testing the ani¬ mals for disease and sedating them before tagging. River otters bear a rich, glossy brown fur that’s valued by furriers. Beneath their chin, the dense fur features a sil¬ very streak. A flat head and thick neck projects from a cylindrical body, as does a thick, foot-long tail and descending Catawba Group Seeks To Find Confederate Burial Locations Who knows how many brave sur¬ vivors of the Civil War repose' in quiet churchyards and cemeteries all across North Carolina, only to have their ultimate fate remain unknown to their families at home? A group from Catawba County is trying to do something about that problem. As a result, the most com¬ prehensive efFort to date to catalog the burial locations of Confederate soldiers and veterans within the Tar Heel State needs help from fellow Ninth Carolinians. The North Carolina Confederate Burial Locator Project has made . . . Milt слан» great strides since being founded in 1993. The Catawba-based organiza¬ tion has put together a computerized database with entries locating burial sites and verifying the military service records of more than 9,000 soldiers buried in North Carolina. More are added daily, and with the future pub¬ lication of the data collected, the pro¬ ject could prove to be an invaluable aid to genealogical and historical researchers. If anyone has knowledge of the bur¬ ial places of any Confederate soldier or veteran, the project asks for sub¬ missions of information. It also wel¬ comes additions to its statewide staff of volunteer cemetery surveyors. till Sl.it* I . . 1 1 1 1 . . i \ 4 Submissions for the database should include as much of the follow¬ ing information as is available: full name of soldier or veteran, dates of birth and death, name of cemetery or burial location, nearest road or municipality to burial location, North Carolina county in which burial site is located, type of gravestone, company and regimental designation for sol¬ dier or veteran, if known. Programs conducted by the Locator Project are available for genealogical and historical societies around the state. Interested parties should contact the project editor. Jeff H. Stepp, at 2139 Buffalo Shoals Road, Catawba. N.C., 28609.