Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Minnesota
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) have high intrinsic and economic value in Minnesota as a protected wildlife species. MN citizens enthusiastically invested in the restoration of trumpeter swans through the check off donation and other funding sources to the MN Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) Nongame Program since the mid-1980s. The Interior Population of trumpeter swans (of which MN swans comprise ~63%) has increased dramatically since they were re-established in the 1960s and 1970s and both population size and distribution have expanded significantly in Minnesota since the MNDNR Alaska-egg project began in 1986. The original MN reintroduction goal of 15 breeding pairs and the revised interim goal of 500 individuals by 2001 have been greatly exceeded, with a current estimate of nearly 17,000 swans (an average annual finite rate of increase of ~1.20 since 2000). Better understanding of trumpeter swan ecology will be extremely useful in developing future management strategies for this growing population.