Four Trumpeter Swans Shot

Fish and Game is seeking information on the shooting of four trumpeter swans in eastern Idaho. The trumpeter swans were shot sometime during the week of December 20 in two separate incidents. Three were shot in the neck with a rifle near Oneida Narrows below Oneida Dam. Use of a rifle rules out accidental shooting by waterfowl hunters. One was shot with a shotgun along the Upper Portneuf River near Mike's Place. Anyone with information on the swan killings is encouraged to call the nearest Fish and Game office, your local officer or the Citizens Against Poaching hotline at 1-800-632-5999. Anyone providing information that leads to the issuance of a citation could be eligible for a cash reward. Callers can remain anonymous. All of the trumpeter swans were recently relocated from Harriman State Park to southeast Idaho to help establish a new wintering population of swans. All of the swans killed had one wing painted pink to identify them as relocated swans. Trumpeter swans are federally-protected migratory birds, with no hunting season in Idaho. The Rocky Mountain population has increased from only about 200 in the 1930 to more than 3,000 currently. Managers and biologists are still concerned about this population because of their vulnerability, particularly during winter. Trumpeter swans are the largest waterfowl species in North America. Most trumpeter swans in the Rocky Mountain population winter in the Island Park/Harriman Park area of Idaho. Harsh conditions and limited food during bad winters have resulted in winter die-offs in the past. To help reduce the threat of these die-offs and to help maintain stream condition in the Henrys Fork where trumpeters can overuse the habitat, Fish and Game just completed a three year project to relocate swans. The project's goal is to try to expand the winter range of this species by relocating young birds to the Bear River in southeast Idaho.