IDFG Is Again Asking Public To Report Collared Trumpeter Swan Sightings

Idaho Falls - For the sixth year in a row multiple state, federal, and tribal agencies are working together to help promote the continued success of the ongoing trumpeter swan recovery efforts. In the 2005 North American Trumpeter Swan Survey recently released by the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), the number of trumpeter swans for the continent was estimated at 34,803, a record-high since the surveys were started back in 1968. Like other migratory birds, trumpeter swan populations are managed by the flyways they utilize. Here in Eastern Idaho, our trumpeter swans are part of what is called the Tri-state Area Flock. The 2005 count for Tri-state population was 453, 6% more than were counted in 2000, but below the record counts of 1968. This year, citizens are again being asked to help out by reporting trumpeter swans wearing colored neck collars. In the past, a multi-agency project titled, "Winter Translocations of Trumpeter Swans in Southeast Idaho" worked to try and disperse swans to encourage new migration routes and decrease the potential for a severe winter kill. Along with IDFG, other state and federal agencies such as Idaho Parks & Recreation (IDPR), the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe were also involved. While the project was successful, according to IDFG Non-Game Biologist Lauri Hanauska-Brown, "Budget cuts have reduced the Departments' ability to hire personnel designated to look for collared swans. Federal and other state agencies have experience similar cutbacks; therefore routine surveys will be reduced this year." Because of these cutbacks, IDFG is asking the public to be more involved than ever before in reporting previously collared birds. Many of the swans collared starting back in 2001, as well as birds collared by Canada, will be returning to the Tri-state area this fall and winter. "Assistance from the public in reporting swan sightings is very important!" says Hanauska-Brown. The neck collars are 3-4 inches tall and have an alpha numeric code on them. Anyone who spots a swan with a green, yellow, red, or white collar should call IDFG at 208-525-7290 and report the bird's location as soon as possible. Because some of the collars are older, the colors may have faded, resulting in many color shade variations of the original colors.