Home: Species at Risk: Trumpeter Swan

Trumpeter Swan

Management

A number of measures have been instituted to help the Trumpeter Swan. These initiatives include Elk Island National Park Trumpeter Swan Reproduction, land use regulations, and public education 

The Trumpeter Swan has made a remarkable recovery since the turn of the century when it was close to extinction. In Alberta, management efforts have resulted in increasing numbers of Trumpeter Swans from approximately 232 individuals in 1954 to 779 in 1995. Most of the increase has been in the Grande Prairie area but flocks have also increased and new flocks have been initiated in other parts of the province.

Despite population increases, the Trumpeter Swan still requires management to ensure its survival in Alberta. Availability of breeding habitat does not appear to be an important limiting factor in the province, and disturbance and degradation of breeding lakes is being controlled through land use regulations. The critical shortage of wintering habitat continues to be a problem and a catastrophic event in the tri-state area threatens to severely impact the population of Trumpeter Swans breeding in Alberta. To a limited extent, efforts to expand wintering destinations for Alberta birds have been successful and should continue.

Reprinted from Alberta Wildlife Status Report No. 26 (2000), with permission from Alberta Sustainable Resource Development.

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