Why is this course important?
Swan hunting has always been controversial to some degree. Most of the controversy is over the occasional harvest of trumpeter swans during fall swan hunting seasons. While migratory tundra swans provide a unique waterfowl hunting opportunity this pursuit also comes with some responsibility; namely avoiding accidental harvest of the much less numerous trumpeter swan.
Trumpeter swans are designated as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Idaho. Although no historical abundance estimates are available, the continental population that once ranged from the Atlantic to the Pacific was reduced to near extinction by 1900, remaining only in small flocks in Alaska and the Rocky Mountains, including the Upper Snake Region of Idaho.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game and partners have been working for nearly 30 years to conserve important trumpeter swan winter habitat along the Snake, Henry’s Fork and Teton River corridors. Fish and Game is also actively engaged in trying to restore Idaho’s trumpeter swan nesting population at historically occupied sites in eastern Idaho. Waterfowl hunters can support Fish and Game’s trumpeter swan conservation efforts by learning to differentiate between tundra and trumpeter swans in the field.
Over the years, several lawsuits have been filed to eliminate swan hunting, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has been petitioned to list trumpeter swans under the Endangered Species Act. These legal challenges have not been successful to date; however, reducing the number of incidentally killed trumpeter swans will help keep future legal challenges to a minimum. The intent of this course is to help you as a hunter learn to identify the correct species of swan.
The Pacific Flyway Council revised their management plans for tundra and trumpeter swans in 2017. These plans include updated swan population objectives, cooperative management agreements, harvest management guidelines, and commitments to monitor population status and harvest. The updated management plans allow for a tundra swan hunting season in the Pacific Flyway, including northern Idaho, based on current swan population status.
Idaho Fish and Game developed a proposal for a swan hunting season in northern Idaho in July 2018, and the proposal was supported by the Idaho Fish and Game Commission. The Pacific Flyway Council endorsed Idaho’s proposal.
In August 2019, the Pacific Flyway Council recommended USFWS change the swan season framework in the Pacific Flyway beginning with the 2020-21 season to allow a swan season in northern Idaho with the following parameters:
- Hunting area may include the four northwestern-most counties (Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, and Kootenai),
- Up to 50 swan tags may be issued,
- Only 1 tag may be issued per hunter, and
- Hunters that harvest a swan must submit a harvest report with bill measurement and color information within 72 hours of harvest for species determination.
Question 1: Which of the following statements is false?
