Reversing Extinction? Sea Otters and Butterflies Hold Clues

Bay Curious

KQED

History, Society & Culture, Places & Travel

4.9 • 999 Ratings

🗓️ 21 August 2025

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Bay Area is a biodiversity hotspot, home to species found nowhere else on Earth. But decades of urbanization have pushed many of these animals — and the ecosystems they depend on — to the edge. Can science bring them back? In this episode, we examine the remarkable comeback of the southern sea otter and an ongoing effort to resurrect the long lost Xerces blue butterfly. Additional Resources: Is Extinction Permanent? Resurrecting California's Xerces Blue Butterfly Healthy Otters Lead to a Happy Ecosystem in Monterey County's Elkhorn Slough Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest Got a question you want answered? Ask! Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Gabriela Glueck. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.

Transcript

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0:00.0	From KQED.
0:03.0	If you've ever visited an urban garden, you know how special it can be to wander through a lush space in the middle of a city,
0:11.0	a place teeming with growing things, bees and butterflies.
0:15.0	It can feel almost magical.
0:18.0	That's how this week's question asker, Jake Hampt, feels about the garden he volunteered at,
0:23.6	Alamani Farm, in San Francisco.
0:25.6	If people can transform this kind of vacant plot of land into a real hub of biodiversity
0:31.6	with dozens of birds and turtles and insects, there has to be more places like this in the Bay Area.
0:38.9	Seeing how a little human effort could help nature root back into the soil was inspiring for Jake.
0:44.3	If you plant native plants and even if you plant crops, then you just suddenly have all
0:48.1	these species showing up.
0:50.7	California has more species of plants and animals than any other state in the country,
0:55.3	and there are countless volunteer groups, organizations, and scientists working hard to restore
1:00.7	native ecosystems across the state. Jake wanted to learn more about those projects.
1:06.0	Why are these areas so biodiverse? What is being done to increase biodiversity in the Bay Area?
1:13.6	This week on Bay Curious, we're headed into nature. We'll visit two of the area's most
1:18.8	biodiverse ecosystems, learn what makes them tick, and meet some of the people stepping up to
1:24.1	protect them. I'm Katrina Schwartz. Stay with us.
1:30.4	Support for Bay Curious comes from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, where pure ingredients and
1:35.5	sustainable brewing meet a legacy of craft. Share one with a friend today and taste for yourself.
1:41.6	Sierra Nevada, taste what matters. Please drink responsibly.
1:46.5	Our first stop on this biodiversity tour is a place called Elkhorn Slew. It's a thriving coastal
	...

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