I want to add a note to what Martha Jordan said about the status, past and
present, of the Trumpeter Swan. She notes that "they are not and never have
been listed on the threatened or endangered species list," and this is
quite true, BUT it might also be misleading to some. That is, if we only
consider a species as having been endangered if it appeared on those lists,
then we are also saying that NO species was EVER endangered before 1973
(the year the Endangered Species Act was passed)! But the Trumpeter Swan
WAS considered endangered before that; there just was no "list" then. Human
depredation mainly, but also many other factors, caused a long and severe
decline in their population, so that by 1932 only 69 individuals were know
to remain (they were at Red Rocks Lake in Montana). They were definitely
considered endangered and a program was begun to try to save them. And it
succeeded. It is considered one of the major success stories in
conservation. Unknown at that time (1930's) was the fact that some
apparently good-sized flocks also remained in Alaska and perhaps (I forget)
northern Canada. Even so, the species was "considered", and probably was,
endangered then, and it definitely was endangered in the southern 48
states. And its recovery is significant.


Richard (Dick) E. Johnson
Conner Museum
Washington State University
Pullman, WA
johnsonre at wsu.edu




>I saw a note on tweeters written by Don Baccus that indicated the status of
>trumpeter swans as endangered. The correct info is they are not and never
>have been listed on the threatened or endangered species list. They are
>having difficulty in certain areas of North America and likely in those
>areas qualify to be listed. Here in the Pacific Coast Population they are
>classified as a migratory waterfowl, in Washington they are listed as a
>migratory waterfowl, game bird-closed season (not hunted and not planning
>to).
> Yes, it is true two were shot by vandals earlier this year. We also
>lost a few others to the same fate in other parts of the state. The fines
>for the crime vary by jurisdiction and the judge you get. This is true of
>most wildlife crimes.
> Recently in the mid-west five trumpeters were found decapitated by the
>side of the road. Things could be worse since they have only 500 or so
>trumpeters in this population while we have 17,000.
>
>Martha Jordan
>marthaj at premier1.net