Otters Return to the Charles

In another sign that the Charles River is becoming healthier otters have been seen in the Charles River near Needham.

They are not found in areas that are contaminated or polluted," said Norman Smith, director of the Massachusetts Audubon Society's Blue Hills Trailside Museum in Milton. Improved water quality and wetlands preservation have sparked a resurgence of river otters, which, at least in Massachusetts, are not on endangered or threatened lists.