FROM THE PRESIDENT - We have made some administrative changes at The Trumpeter Swan Society to enable our organization to continue to grow to meet the needs of our increasing swan populations. Ruth Shea described them to you in her message in the last issue of North American Swans, but I want to repeat them here to make sure everyone is aware of what has happened.

When our organization was founded, we were concerned primarily with the welfare of approximately 600 Trumpeter Swans in the Rocky Mountain area. There were a few thousand swans in the Pacific Coast Population, and with the exception of a fledgling flock of swans at Lacreek National Wildlife Refuge, the Interior Population did not exist. Now, we must manage for more than 20,000 Trumpeters spread across the North American continent. More needs to be done than can be handled by our small group of volunteers. Our Board has considered hiring an Executive Director for several years to meet the increased demands created by the growing populations. We decided that we could not afford to wait any longer in making the transition.

As of January 1, 1999, Ruth Shea resigned as President of TTSS to be hired by the Board of Directors as a part-time Executive Director on a trial basis. I was appointed to serve the balance of her term as President, which will end at our 17th Conference in September. Donna Compton continues on long-term disability and Madeleine Linck remains our Administrative Assistant. Ruth will be doing most of the more specialized work for the Society, including fund raising, organizing the next conference, representing the Society at swan management meetings and conducting special projects. Please continue to correspond with Ruth and Madeleine regarding any swan issues.

I think this change is the best way to meet all the demands our Society and the swans face today. We will evaluate the effectiveness of this new arrangement at the end of 1999, and hopefully, make the position of Executive Director permanent.

Remember that our next conference will be held in Idaho Falls, Idaho, on September 15-18, 1999. Our conference theme will be "Trumpeter Swans - A Secure Future?" Providing adequate winter habitat is the most critical issue facing all populations of Trumpeters today. This conference should be informative and productive. It should help shape the future direction of our management efforts.

More information and a conference registration brochure will be in the next Trumpetings. Please make plans to attend. The Rocky Mountains are a wonderful place to be in the fall. I hope to see you there [Larry Gillette].

SOUTHEAST IDAHO REFUGE COMPLEX WINTER ACTIVITIES - Trumpeter Swan monitoring is being coordinated through the Southeast Idaho Refuge Complex (SIRC) again this winter. SIRC is the repository of monitoring observations; please report any Trumpeter Swans that might be from the Rocky Mountain Population (RMP) [call 208-237-6615 or E-mail: steve_bouffard@fws.gov.] We have had no reports so far from Utah, and a few reports from Washington and California. Dick Munoz will assume the duties of Trumpeter Swan Coordinator for the Western Region of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service in March following the retirement of Milton Haderlie.

Winter monitoring of the RMP is a cooperative effort by many agencies, organizations, and individuals. We have a technician stationed at Harriman State Park (HSP) for the winter, and volunteers looking for Trumpeters in parts of Idaho, Nevada and California. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has two technicians at HSP for the winter. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources also have people in the field monitoring swans.

IDAHO TRUMPETER WINTERING IN CALIFORNIA - On January 8, 1998, during the annual USFWS Bald Eagle Survey, my husband, Jim, and I, Eastern Sierra Audubon Society volunteers, discovered a collared Trumpeter Swan at Pleasant Valley Reservoir, in Inyo County, near Bishop, California. This reservoir is located at 4,000-ft. elevation east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The steep sides of this long narrow body of water are over 500 feet high and consist of volcanic rocks and boulders. In winter, diving ducks and geese can be seen here. Since no Bald Eagles seemed to be around that day, we counted ducks. Suddenly, Jim spied a large white swan on the still waters. Jim commented that it looked like an ocean liner and the Canada Geese looked like dinghies. The green collar with the white code "8V0" seemed a clue that it might be a Trumpeter Swan. Tom and Jo Heindel, county coordinators, referred us to TTSS member, Rod Hug of Santa Rosa.

Soon we started to learn about our unusual visitor and The Trumpeter Swan Society. An Audubon field trip was scheduled the next day. For many in the group it was their first Trumpeter Swan and all were thrilled to see her so well. It turns out that 8V0 was a female captured, banded, and released at Harriman State Park, Idaho, on December 7, 1996. She had never been translocated. She had not been seen since December 1997, when she was spotted at Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming. A photo and short article about our swan were put into the newspaper. It was hoped that our community would realize the rarity of this swan and help watch over her during the waterfowl season. A television segment was done by our local station, filmed at the reservoir with lots of footage of the graceful visitor.

This is where Sarah Glasser took over and organized a scheduled daily visit to 8VO. When a record-breaking snowstorm hit the area and access to the swan was near impossible, Sarah enlisted the help of the local power plant personnel, who offered to monitor the swan as they were moving through in their snow cats. Mrs. Beach, a third grade teacher from Bishop’s elementary school, shared the Trumpeter Swan story with her class. The children got to see the swan through binoculars and scopes. A California Department of Fish and Game biologist, Denyse Racine, told me that she was there the day the class visited. A little boy came up to her, bird book in hand, asking her if she knew what the big white bird was. He then proceeded with great exhilaration to tell her the wonders of this bird. The whole class was very taken with the bird and, upon returning to the classroom, they wrote stories and poems about the swan. One month later, hunting season is over and 8V0 is still here. Over time she is more relaxed, preening and stretching her huge wings out, watching the comings and goings of the place [Jim and Debby Parker, E. Sierra Audubon Society, California].

TRUMPETER SWANS IN NEBRASKA SAND HILLS - A new record number of Trumpeter Swans were observed in the Sand Hills of Cherry County, Nebraska, this winter. My observations started in the afternoon of November 29, 1998, when I observed 11 Trumpeter Swans in the Cap Valley. The valley is located south of the headwaters of the North Loup River. A herd of bison recently cleared much of the river’s emergent vegetation, leaving open water with remnant areas of cattails. The lakes and rivers in the area were not frozen in November, because of the unseasonably warm weather.

My bird survey continued early the next morning and I did not see any swans at Speckel-Meir Lake, Jack Rabbit Lake, and north through Cap Valley. However, at Mud Lake I observed 91 swans. Later, during three additional counts, about 89 swans were observed. This is a new record number for swans in the Sand Hills. The previous high count of 58 swans was recorded at Mud Lake in March of 1998.

Swans were also at two other southwest Cherry County lakes, both located west of Mud Lake and the headwaters of Mud Creek. At Wolf Lake there was a family group of six swans and a family group of four at Steverson Lake, a state-owned wildlife management area. No swans were observed at Round Lake, Mother Lake, and Alkali Lake. Check the next issue of North American Swans for additional details on the status of the Trumpeter Swan in the Sand Hills [Jim Ducey, TTSS member, Lincoln, Nebraska].

TRUMPETERS FOLLOW ULTRA-LIGHT - Four Trumpeter Swans departed Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, on December 4, 1998, following an ultra-light aircraft to Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in southern Indiana. After a 675-mile journey, the birds landed at the Refuge on December 23, 1998. The flight was an attempt by Migratory Bird Research Group, a team of private Canadian researchers led by Wayne Bezner-Kerr, scientist and TTSS member, to establish a migratory flock [N. American Swans, Vol. 27(1):10; 1998.] The Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) are providing technical assistance for the project.

If you spot a Trumpeter Swan in southern Indiana this winter you are encouraged to contact the Research Group via e-mail (trumpeter.swan@sympatico.ca) or Muscatatuck NWR (mike_oliver@mail.fws.gov) or (812)522-4352. Additionally, the birds’ progress, throughout the winter and, hopefully, their spring return to Ontario, can be monitored on the internet by accessing either the DNR’s web site (www.state.in.us/dnr/fishwild/index.htm) or the USFWS web site (www.fws.gov/r3pao).

TRUMPETERS FOR SALE – The following TTSS members have notified our office that they have Trumpeters for sale: Amos D. Faux-Burhans (P.O. Box 3676, Frederick, MD 21705) has two pairs of proven breeders for $2,000/pair; Dean Johnson (Wisconsin (414)537-2173, e-mail: dkjohnsn@execpc.com) has three parent-raised, 50 % Alaskan 1997 birds and one 1998 bird; and Elmer Peters (Wisconsin (414)284-9342) has four unrelated breeding pairs.

NORTH AMERICAN SWAN FUND CONTRIBUTIONS - During 1998, several Life Membership and other contributions were made to this endowment fund. The Fund was established in 1991 to support swan research, education and habitat protection. As of December 31,1998, the Fund had a balance of $32,418. No disbursements will be made until it exceeds $50,000. TTSS wishes to thank Mary Burgess Bote, Harold H. Burgess, Lisa and Bob Erickson, Dr. Shelley Sampson Gordon, David Hartwell, Janice Sampson, and Dr. William J. R. Sladen for their recent donations. Mary Burgess Bote made her contribution in honor of her parents, Harold and Ruth Burgess. Harold Burgess contributed his Life Membership in memory of his wife, Ruth L. Burgess. In thanking Art Hughlett, former TTSS Director, for his In Memoriam (Trumpetings, October 1998), Harold wanted to have us note that he and Ruth have been Society members since 1972 and that they actually met in Liberia, West Africa (and not in Nigeria as we had erroneously reported).

REWARD FOR INFORMATION - A $2,000 reward has been posted for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for killing five Trumpeter Swans. The mutilated swan remains were found on January 24, 1999, at Carlyle Lake, Fayette County, Illinois. It is likely that any collars and leg bands were removed by those responsible for the crime.

Anyone with information helpful to the investigation should contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Law Enforcement Offices in Springfield Illinois at (217)793-9554; St. Peters, Missouri at (314)441-1909; or the Illinois, TIP (Turn In Poachers) hotline at 1-800-236-7529 [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service News Release, Jan. 29, 1999.]

Once again our membership has been very generous. A total of $5,714 has been raised to date. It is not too late to contribute to help make a difference for Trumpeters throughout North America. Thank you to all for the generous support!