Restoration of Trumpeter Swans in North America: A Century of Progress and Challenges

By the beginning of the 20th Century, North America's once widespread and abundant populations of Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) had been devastated by overharvest and were nearing extinction. By the close of the century, due to growth of remnant populations and restoration efforts, over 23,000 Trumpeter Swans existed in the wild. Large portions of vacant historic breeding habitats in Canada and the United States remain suitable for future reoccupation, however, traditional migration patterns to southerly wintering areas have been disrupted, winter habitat has been reduced in quantity and quality, and some populations that depend upon marginal winter habitat are vulnerable to high winter mortality. To maintain current populations and allow for growth, we recommend protecting and improving current winter habitat, creating new wintering sites, and developing methods to establish use of these areas. Particular emphasis should be placed on using the National Wildlife Refuge System to provide secure focus areas for expansion of migration and winter distribution and exploring ways to create additional wintering habitat in partnership with agricultural interests.