Otters in the Ozarks

When Henry Rowe Schoolcraft first entered the Ozarks in 1818, he found the area lightly populated by settlers whose livelihoods included hunting, trapping and timber. At that time, the Ozarks were still a secret wilderness overflowing with thick virgin timber and teaming with wildlife. But it wouldn’t be long before prospectors began to cash-in on the abundance of the land, and a great assault on the precious resources of the Ozarks began.

By 1890, the entire region had been almost completely stripped of timber, while the remnants that remained were repeatedly ravished by wildfire. Game animals became scarce as bush-meat hunters moved in to the area to feed growing populations in the north. In a very short time, many species of wild animals had been exterminated from the Ozarks, including beaver, mink, elk, rabbit, quail, grouse, mountain lion, black bear and wolves. As recently as 1952, deer were a rare sight across the Ozarks and wild turkey and otter were all but extinct. Many an Ozarker had grown to adulthood without ever having seen these animals.

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Jill Henderson is an artist, author and naturalist with a passion for wild edible and medicinal plants, organic gardening, seed saving and sustainable agriculture. She currently authors and edits the blog Show Me Oz: The Very Best of the Ozarks (http://showmeoz.wordpress.com), which focuses on building community around sustainable ideals relevant to the people of the Ozarks region and beyond. She has written three books: The Healing Power of Kitchen Herbs, The Garden Seed Saving Guide and A Journey of Seasons. Available in print and ebooks.