Rocky Mountain Population of Trumpeter Swans
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University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln US Fish & Wildlife Publications US Fish & Wildlife Service March 2016 Rocky Mountain Population of Trumpeter Swans Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usfwspubs "Rocky Mountain Population of Trumpeter Swans" (2016). US Fish & Wildlife Publications. 514. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usfwspubs/514 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the US Fish & Wildlife Service at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in US Fish & Wildlife Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. This management plan is one of a series of cooperatively developed plans for managing various species of migratory birds of the Pacific Flyway. Inquiries about this plan may be directed to member states of the Pacific Flyway Council or to the Pacific Flyway Representative, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/DMBM, 911 N.E. 11th Avenue, Portland OR 97232-4181. Information regarding the Pacific Flyway Council and management plans can be found on the Internet at http://pacificflyway.gov/ Suggested Citation: Subcommittee on Rocky Mountain Trumpeter Swans, 2012. Pacific Flyway management plan for the Rocky Mountain Population of Trumpeter Swans, Pacific Flyway Study Committee, [c/o USFWS, DMBM], Portland, Oregon. Unpublished report. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Although this plan was prepared by the Pacific Flyway Subcommittee for the Rocky Mountain Population of Trumpeter Swans, it received considerable input and assistance from many state, federal, and tribal agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals. Agencies that provided input include the state fish and wildlife agencies of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming, the Fish and Wildlife Division of Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, Wildlife Science Section of the British Columbia Ministry of Environment, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Canadian Wildlife Service, Yellowstone National Park and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, and the Wyoming Wetland Society. John Cornely of The Trumpeter Swan Society prepared and edited this revision of the plan and the Society provided input and significant support. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................... 0 PREFACE ........................................................................................................................................ 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 4 Terminology ........................................................................................................................ 4 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 4 Background .......................................................................................................................... 5 GOAL AND OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................ 7 Population Management Goal ............................................................................................. 7 Objectives ............................................................................................................................ 7 Public Education ................................................................................................................ 20 STATUS ........................................................................................................................................ 21 Winter Status ..................................................................................................................... 21 Summer Status ................................................................................................................... 23 MANAGEMENT ISSUES ............................................................................................................ 25 RECOMMENDED MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ................................................................. 30 AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES AND FUNDING ...................................................................... 31 ANNUAL REVIEW ...................................................................................................................... 33 Reporting Progress and Review of This Plan .................................................................... 33 Subcommittee Composition and Rotation of Chair ........................................................... 33 LITERATURE CITED: ................................................................................................................. 34 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................... 63 LIST OF FIGURES 1. Map showing the core Tri-state Area of southeast Idaho, southwest Montana, and northwest Wyoming for the Rocky Mountain Population of trumpeter swans. ....................................... 44 2. Approximate ranges of Pacific Coast, Rocky Mountain, and Interior populations of trumpeter swans during late summer, 2005. ............................................................................................ 45 3. Trumpeter swan population estimates obtained from the rangewide North American Trumpeter Swan Survey conducted during midwinter, by management unit, 1968-2005. ..... 46 4. Results of Midwinter Surveys of the Rocky Mountain Population of trumpeter swans in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming, 1967-2007. ..................................... 47 5. Results of Midwinter Surveys of the Rocky Mountain Population of Trumpeter Swans in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, 1972-2007. ........................................................................... 48 6. Results of Midwinter Surveys of the Rocky Mountain Population of Trumpeter Swans in Nevada, Malheur NWR, Oregon, and Summer Lake WMA, Oregon, 1972-2007. ................ 49 7. Results of Fall Surveys of Rocky Mountain Population trumpeter swans (white birds and cygnets) in all U.S. flocks (Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming), 1967- 2006. ........................................................................................................................................ 50 8. Results of Fall Surveys of Rocky Mountain Population trumpeter swans (white birds and cygnets) in Montana, 1967-2006. ............................................................................................ 51 9. Results of Fall Surveys of Rocky Mountain Population trumpeter swans (white birds and cygnets) in Idaho, 1967-2006. ................................................................................................. 52 10. Results of Fall Surveys of Rocky Mountain Population trumpeter swans (white birds and cygnets) in Wyoming, 1967-2006. ......................................................................................... 53 11. Results of Fall Surveys of Rocky Mountain Population trumpeter swans (white birds and cygnets) in Malheur NWR, Oregon, 1967-2006. ................................................................... 54 12. Results of Fall Surveys of Rocky Mountain Population trumpeter swans (white birds and cygnets) in Nevada, 1967-2006. ............................................................................................. 55 13. Results of Fall Surveys of Rocky Mountain Population trumpeter swans (white birds and cygnets) in Summer lake WMA, Oregon, 1967-2006. .......................................................... 56 14. Trends of Rocky Mountain Population trumpeter swans (white birds, cygnets, and unknown age), U. S. and Canadian flocks, 1967-2007. ......................................................................... 57 15. Comparison of estimates from annual surveys and the quinquennial survey, 1975-2005. .... 58 16. Estimates of the number of Rocky Mountain Population trumpeter swans (white birds and cygnets) in Canadian flocks, 1974-2007. ............................................................................... 59 17. Percentage of the Rocky Mountain Population of trumpeter swans comprised of Canadian flocks, 1974-2007, derived from the Midwinter Survey. ....................................................... 60 18. Proportions of total swans counted in each of the states comprising the Tri-state Region during the Mid-winter Trumpeter Swan Survey, 1972-2007. ................................................ 61 19. Proportions of total swans counted in each of the states comprising the Tri-state Region during the Fall Trumpeter Swan Survey, 1972-2007. ............................................................ 62 PREFACE Trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) are native only to North America. Although no historical estimates of their abundance are available, by 1900 they had been eliminated from most of their historical range in the U.S. and Canada. Through habitat conservation, protection from illegal shooting, supplemental winter feeding, and re-introduction and translocation efforts, trumpeter swans have increased from a few hundred birds to nearly 35,000. To facilitate monitoring and management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) designated three populations: the Pacific