The historic range of the North American river otter, Lontra canadensis , included much of the North American continent, from arctic Alaska and northern Canada to the southern United States (US). However, overharvest and perturbations to aquatic environments contributed to the decline and, in some cases, the extirpation of river otter populations through substantial portions of the species’ former range. The last update to the conservation and management status of the river otter in the US was done by Raesly (2001), which was found to include several errors concerning state river otter reintroductions. There had not been a comprehensive study of the conservation and management status of the river otter in Canada. We conducted telephone and email surveys with furbearer biologists in the US and Canada to update the conservation and management status of river otter populations among US states and Canadian provinces and territories. The river otter has recovered in many areas and now occupies at least portions of its historic range in each jurisdiction, except Prince Edward Island, with populations reported as stable, expanding, or a combination thereof. This increase in river otter distribution and abundance was facilitated by a combination of reintroduction projects involving 22 states, improvements in aquatic habitat quality, and the natural expansion of native populations. Recovery of river otter populations has resulted in an increase of legal trapping seasons among states, increasing from 31 states in 2006 to 37 in 2013. Eleven states and one province calculated river otter population estimates, and research is needed to further develop and refine existing approaches for monitoring populations. Public complaints about river otters were reported in 43 states and 5 provinces, but were most often classified as infrequent or rare. The conservation status of river otter populations in North America has improved considerably and constitutes a conservation success story. However, the historic vulnerability of the river otter to various perturbations – particularly overharvest – is well documented, and future conservation strategies should include careful field monitoring of the species’ distribution and population status to identify threats that could hinder or reverse its ongoing recovery. An Addendum is included at the end of the chapter to facilitate an update of recent changes and offer additional thoughts pertaining to the conservation of river otters.