How are Jacksonites saving it?
By Benjamin Alva Polley EBS COLUMNIST
Deep in the heart of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is a remote, shallow pond teeming with aquatic plants far from human activity. This pond is home to a pair of nesting trumpeter swans. These giant snow-white birds with black bills and black legs stand 5 to 6 feet tall and weigh 25 pounds. The largest waterfowl in the United States can even live for 25 years in the wild. Their numbers are globally estimated at around 63,000 birds of breeding age.
The conservation story of this iconic bird wasn’t always successful. They were once thought extinct in the Lower 48 due to overhunting and habitat loss. Around the turn of the 20th century, the population hit all-time lows. Biologists estimated fewer than 70 wild breeding pairs in remote parts of Yellowstone National Park.
In 1932, a flock of swans was discovered in the innermost regions of Yellowstone, surprising even the most ardent birdwatchers. People thought they were the last remaining swans in the continental United States.
Yellowstone’s remoteness and protection as a national park might have saved the birds from overhunting and extinction.
Despite the challenges, the trumpeter swans have shown remarkable resilience. Even after their Yellowstone numbers dropped to just four individuals in 2010, they have managed to bounce back, with their population now at 80 individuals in Yellowstone.
Several contributing factors, including human disturbance, disease and climate change, contribute to the birds’ constant decline and competitive struggle to survive in a wetland ecosystem.
Despite the yo-yo-like nature of their populations, trumpeter swans have always been associated with Jackson, Wyoming, and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
Bill Long, a former Wyoming Game and Fish Department warden and the founder of the Wyoming Wetlands Society, has been a critical figure in conserving trumpeter swans. His initiative to start a captive breeding program in 1986 has been instrumental in saving the birds and releasing them back into the tri-state region of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming and even Oregon. The society has since raised and released over 800 young swans, or cygnets, back into the wild. From north to south, the project areas include Montana’s Flathead Reservation, Blackfoot Valley, Madison Valley, Yellowstone and Teton national parks, Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho, Bear Lake, Wyoming’s Big Sandy and Green rivers, and Summer Lake, Oregon.
Over the years, Long has worked closely with Wyoming Game and Fish, Wind River Reservation, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, The Salish and Kootenai Tribes, and the Pacific Flyway Council to determine where to release the yearlings.
In July, the Wyoming Wetlands Society released five yearlings near the Big Sandy Creek River area in the Wind River Range. In August and September, another six swans were released.
This is vital in places like Wyoming, where 75% of the species rely on riparian habitats in a dry environment. Wetlands and riparian corridors are super crucial for species as our planet warms.
While stabilizing the swan population is crucial, the need for protecting the wetlands is urgent. These ecosystems are home to thousands of plants and animals and play a vital role in improving water quality, protecting against floods, and maintaining streamflow. The rise and fall of trumpeter swan numbers serve as a barometer for the health of these wetlands.
Benjamin Alva Polley is a place-based storyteller. His stories have been published in Audubon, Esquire, Field & Stream, The Guardian, Outside, Popular Science, Sierra, and other publications on his website. He holds a master’s in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism from the University of Montana.
