Otters sighted in Annandale

A river otter in Long Branch Stream.

Annandale has otters – or at least it did when a local resident took these photos. 

Three river otters were sighted this fall in Long Branch Stream near Woodland Way and Canterbury Woods Elementary School, according to the Friends of Long Branch Stream Valley. 

River otters have been spotted throughout Fairfax County, especially in Huntley Meadows but “they are not super common” in the county, says Charles Smith of the Stormwater Planning Division and manager of the Long Branch Stream restoration project. Otters that were seen recently downstream of the marina in Lake Accotink might have been the same ones seen in Annandale, he says.  

“We definitely don’t get a lot of reports on otters,” says Fairfax County Wildlife Management Specialist Katherine Edwards. “We usually get a couple of sightings a year.” 

The three river otters

In addition to a couple of otters observed last winter at Huntley Meadows, Edwards says, otters have been spotted in Bull Run in Centreville, and one was hit by a car in Chantilly. They have never been reported in Annandale. 

It isn’t known how many otters live in Fairfax County, as the county doesn’t collect data on the animals.  

They are most likely found in streams, lakes, and marshy areas where they can find their favorite food –fish, crayfish, freshwater mussels, and amphibians.

Otters need clean water, Edwards says, so “keeping the watershed clean and healthy will support otters and other wildlife.”  

The Long Branch Stream restoration project is aimed at improving water quality and reducing erosion, which should improve the habitat for wildlife. The project area is located between Little River Turnpike, Burk Station Road, Braddock Road, and Wakefield Chapel Road.

Currently, project descriptions of what can be done in each part of the watershed are being written, Smith said. Those descriptions should be finished in February at which time they will be shared with the community. 

The staff will then consider public feedback in revising those descriptions and will present an implementation plan to the public this summer. The design phase will start in the fall, and construction is scheduled to start in late 2023.