The Utah Wildlife Board's approval of the Division of Wildlife Resource's River Otter Management Plan in December paved the way for further reintroduction of perhaps the best fishers in the world. The plan includes releasing 10 otters a year for the next three years on the Escalante River in southern Utah.

Human anglers took notice when they heard otters would be moved to new waters. They were less concerned after learning the transfer will happen in the infrequently fished Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monument. But some people wonder if otters might act as a management tool in places where anglers virtually refuse to kill fish.

The otter plan got some attention in December during the Regional Advisory Council (RAC) meeting in Salt Lake City where committee members essentially asked to be next on the list for otter reintroduction.

Here's why.

Biologists have been asking anglers to keep fish on the middle and lower stretches of the Provo River, but the majority of fly fishers refuse to kill what they catch. The result, biologists say, is an overpopulation of skinny trout. According to Blue Ribbon Fisheries biologist Richard Hepworth, anglers keep just 1.4 percent of the fish they catch on the middle Provo. That number climbs to 1.5 percent on the lower stretch in Provo Canyon.

Committee members suggested that otters could help do what anglers are not - thin the fish population. Hepworth is not so sure it will work that way.

"They will definitely take some fish, but I'm not sure it would be enough to really make a difference. It would be really neat to see otters on the Provo, but I see some potential problems," he said. No water in Utah gets more fishing pressure than the Provo River and Hepworth wonders if otters could handle running into anglers every 50 feet.

If those otters feel the squeeze and head downstream, they could start feasting on the June sucker, an endangered species protected by the federal government, which inhabits Utah Lake and uses the Provo River to spawn.

If the otters jump the Deer Creek dam and head to the middle Provo, they will find fewer people, but would probably be drawn to the just-reopened Midway Fish Hatchery, where the fishing will be easy.

The idea of using otters to help harvest overpopulated trout is a good one, but requires careful consideration. That said, the next site for an otter reintroduction won't be chosen for another three years.

Fond farewell

The Tribune lost a great talent recently when artist Mark Knudsen retired. He has provided excellent work for the paper's Outdoors section through the years and he will be missed.

Many anglers, hunters and birders probably don't know they already own one of Knudsen's works. He is the artist who designed the cutthroat trout, Rocky Mountain elk and blue heron for Utah's wildlife license plate program.

If you like Knudsen's work, you should pick up a plate now. The DWR is working on a new set of wildlife plates with a different artist.

Orvis clinic

Members of the Strawberry Anglers Association will talk Saturday about their efforts to preserve the delicate Strawberry Reservoir for future generations. The talk will be at the Orvis store in Murray, 202 E. Winchester, starting at 11 a.m.

bpretty@sltrib.com