There is a misconception that the Somerset Otter Group, is part of the Somerset Wildlife Trust.
It is not.
It is an independent group, a loose association of Otter Surveyors.
The group obviously works with the SWT upon shared aims, in the same way it does with other organisations. Its closest partner being the Somerset Environmental Records Centre, SERC, through which it shares all the survey data the Somerset Otter Group acquires.
The misconception is due to previous close links with the SWT, but is becoming hard to correct. At a recent meeting with Specialised groups within Somerset, it was deemed necessary for the relationship to be clarified for all groups. Below is a paragraph from Simon Nash CEO of the SWT.
Clarification of groups relationship with SWT by Simon Nash
SWT recognises that several of the specialist groups originally arose from within the Trust and that there are strong and productive historical links between the two. Some Specialist Groups refer to a formal relationship with the Trust in their own constitutions. However, despite their origins, there has never been any legal affiliation between the Trust and any of the specialist groups, the relationship having always relied on mutual goodwill and the obvious benefits to wildlife that flow from that. In the decades since their inception the groups have grown and diversified enormously so that while the goodwill remains, the Trust cannot be held responsible for the specialist groups as they largely work autonomously and often the Trust would be unaware of exactly what, or whom, it is assuming responsibility for.