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Are Alaska's Wild Swans Safe

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Are Alaska's Wild Swans Safe PROCEEDINGS AND PAPERS OF THE SEVENTEENTH TRUMPETER SWAN SOCIETY CONFERENCE Trumpeter Swans: A Secure Future? 15-18 September 1999 Idaho Falls, Idaho Ruth E. Shea Madeleine H. Linck Harvey K. Nelson Editors i Conference Chair Ruth E. Shea Conference Sponsors The Trumpeter Swan Society The Summerlee Foundation Fall River Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc. Fremont-Madison Irrigation District The Henry’s Fork Foundation Idaho Department of Fish and Game Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation Integrated Environmental Analysis Department, INEEL McGrath, Smith and Associates Teton Regional Land Trust U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service U.S. Forest Service Special Thanks To Steve Bouffard Danny Gomez Dick Munoz U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mark Orme U.S. Forest Service Don Wright Idaho Department of Fish and Game Gene Eyraud Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation Donna Compton Larry Gillette Madeleine Linck Jim Sessions Sally Shanks Hope Trussell The Trumpeter Swan Society Published by The Trumpeter Swan Society with financial assistance from the Summerlee Foundation and The Norcross Wildlife Foundation, Inc. Copies may be purchased from The Trumpeter Swan Society, 3800 County Road 24, Maple Plain, MN 55359. December 2000 ISSN 1094-6144 ii PREFACE Members of The Trumpeter Swan Society share a common mission - to assure the vitality and welfare of wild Trumpeter Swan populations and to restore the species to as much of its former range as possible. During the past century, Trumpeter Swans made a very welcome return from the brink of extinction. As North America’s human population increases, finding ways to protect that progress and rebuild secure distributions will pose continued challenges. Over the past 32 years, our Conferences have periodically brought together wildlife managers, private sector partners, and interested citizens to discuss the issues, problems, and opportunities facing Trumpeter Swan restoration and management. Our 17th Conference was held in Idaho Falls, Idaho, in September 1999, to highlight the problems facing Trumpeter Swans in the Rocky Mountains and the work that lies ahead to make their future secure. We were honored by the presence of representatives from Idaho’s Governor and Congressional delegation, who shared our concerns about the vulnerability of trumpeters in eastern Idaho. We were particularly pleased to hear Agriculture and Natural Resources Director Don Dixon speak on behalf of Idaho Senator Mike Crapo. We also were honored by the participation of Paul Schmidt, Deputy Assistant Director for Refuges and Wildlife, who spoke on behalf of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Director Jamie Clark. Mr. Schmidt made clear that, despite the promising increase in Rocky Mountain trumpeters, until we restore their migrations and help them return to more suitable wintering areas, their recovery will remain questionable. We were heartened to hear that the top levels of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) comprehend the gravity of the current situation, and are committed to increasing Service leadership and the role of National Wildlife Refuges in range expansion efforts. Speakers focused on the current status and trends of each management population, and discussed efforts to conserve and improve habitat, rebuild secure winter distributions, and expand migrations. Throughout the presentations and the field trip to Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and Harriman State Park, the need to more effectively involve on-the-ground managers and private sector partners in Trumpeter Swan restoration was a prevalent theme. Speakers explored ways in which private citizens, land trusts, rehabilitators, and universities can work with habitat and wildlife managers to help restore the swans and their habitats. The obstacle that Tundra Swan hunting has posed to southward expansion of Rocky Mountain trumpeters was discussed from various perspectives. Concerns that Tundra Swan hunting has derailed range expansion efforts by impeding translocations to important southern habitats and increasing the mortality of southward migrating trumpeters were discussed, as were concerns that southward expansion of trumpeters could lead to further reductions in the swan hunt. The USFWS reiterated its commitment to an open public process in the coming year to discuss and select a management alternative for future swan hunts in the Pacific Flyway. Throughout the Conference, speakers highlighted the precarious status of the Tristate Trumpeter Swan nesting population, the only breeding population in the lower 48 states that escaped extirpation. The need to clearly differentiate between “management” populations and biological populations was also emphasized. In recent years, managers have broadly lumped most western Canadian and all western U.S. trumpeters into one “management” population (Rocky Mountain Population). Speakers emphasized the need to recognize the Tristate trumpeters as a distinct biological population in management plans and actions, and not allow its declining population trend, very low numbers, and difficult problems to be masked by lumping it with the increasing western Canadian population. Beyond the exchange of information, the Conference brought together over 100 friends of the Trumpeter Swan to share their data, understanding, and enthusiasm. We hope the 17th Conference has helped make the trumpeter’s future more secure, and that these Proceedings will make this information available to a much broader audience, for many years to come. Ruth Shea Conference Chair iii iv TABLE OF CONTENTS PACIFIC COAST POPULATION THE 1995 CENSUS OF TRUMPETER SWANS ON ALASKAN NESTING HABITATS ................................ 3 Bruce Conant, John I. Hodges, Deborah J. Groves, and James G. King ARE ALASKA’S WILD SWANS SAFE? ............................................................................................................. 4 James G. King ATLANTIC AND INTERIOR POPULATIONS STATUS OF ATLANTIC FLYWAY TRUMPETER SWAN MANAGEMENT PLAN ...................................... 9 Dennis Luszcz THE TRUMPETER SWAN RESTORATION PROGRAM IN ONTARIO 1999............................................ 11 Harry G. Lumsden INTERIOR POPULATION OF TRUMPETER SWANS: STATUS, TRENDS, MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH PRIORITIES ................................................................................................................................... 16 Joe W. C. Johnson STATUS REPORT OF THE LACREEK TRUMPETER SWAN FLOCK FOR 1999 ........................................ 24 Rolf H. Kraft WINTER SITE SELECTION CHARACTERISTICS, GENETIC COMPOSITION AND MORTALITY FACTORS OF THE HIGH PLAINS FLOCK OF TRUMPETER SWANS ........................................................ 29 Charles A. Pelizza WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO COMPLETE THE RESTORATION OF THE INTERIOR POPULATION OF TRUMPETER SWANS? ...................................................................................................... 35 Laurence N. Gillette ROCKY MOUNTAIN POPULATION CHALLENGES IN CONSERVING SWANS AND OTHER MIGRATORY BIRDS INTO THE NEXT MILLENIUM ....................................................................................................................................................... 41 Paul Schmidt REMARKS ON BEHALF OF IDAHO'S SENATOR MIKE CRAPO……………………………………......... 44 Don Dixon HISTORY, ECOLOGY, AND MANAGEMENT OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN POPULATION OF TRUMPETER SWANS: IMPLICATIONS FOR RESTORATION .................................................................... 46 I. J. Ball, Edward O. Garton, Ruth E. Shea v 1999 FALL SURVEY OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN POPULATION (RMP) OF TRUMPETER SWANS, U.S. FLOCKS ....................................................................................................................................... 50 Daniel Gomez RECENT CHANGES IN WINTER DISTRIBUTION OF RMP TRUMPETER SWANS ................................. 53 Stephen H. Bouffard U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE PERSPECTIVE ON RMP TRUMPETER SWAN RESTORATION .................................................................................................................................................. 60 Robert E. Trost, John E. Cornely, J. Bradley Bortner PACIFIC FLYWAY STUDY COMMITTEE PERSPECTIVE ON RMP TRUMPETER SWAN RESTORATION .................................................................................................................................................. 67 Stephen A. Tessmann ROCKY MOUNTAIN TRUMPETER SWANS: CURRENT VULNERABILITY AND RESTORATION POTENTIAL ........................................................................................................................................................ 74 Ruth E. Shea PERSPECTIVES OF THE TRUMPETER SWAN SOCIETY ON MANAGEMENT OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN POPULATION OF TRUMPETER SWANS ................................................................................. 82 Laurence N. Gillette INTERACTIONS AMONG WATERFOWL HERBIVORY, AQUATIC VEGETATION, FISHERIES AND FLOWS BELOW ISLAND PARK DAM, IDAHO.................................................................................... 85 Rob Van Kirk, Robert Martin TRUMPETER SWAN NESTING HABITAT ON THE TARGHEE NATIONAL FOREST ............................. 95 Mark L. Orme, Ruth Shea TRUMPETER SWAN REINTRODUCTION ON THE FLATHEAD INDIAN RESERVATION ................................................................................................................................................ 103 Dale M. Becker ROLE OF SOUTHEAST IDAHO NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE COMPLEX IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN POPULATION TRUMPETER SWAN
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