Petersburg Pilot -

The sea otter population in Southeast has more than doubled over the last decade.

Those are the findings of an estimate conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which are accepting 90 days of public comment on its revised stock assessment for the furry creature.

The agency estimates there are more than 25,000 sea otters in Southeast, compared to more than 10,500 in 2003.

The animals were reintroduced to Southeast in the 1960s after the Russian fur trade wiped them out early in the last century.

The population is growing at about a 12-14 percent rate each year. The service’s draft...