The Blackfoot Valley Trumpeter Swan Reintroduction: A Chronology and Case Study
type: CreativeWork
description: Since 2003, United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) personnel have been working together with state and local officials to reintroduce a viable population of trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) to wetlands in the Blackfoot River Valley of western Montana. I had the great opportunity to be involved with this project while completing a Masters in Environmental Studies at the University of Montana. During the time I was involved, we conducted a habitat analysis, worked to prepare wetlands for swan use, released the first cohort of reintroduced trumpeter swans in the Blackfoot Valley, and tracked their movements until they left for winter. While the long-term viability of the trumpeter swan population in the Blackfoot cannot be known at such an early point in the effort, the return of some of the first-year birds to their release wetland the following spring has members of the reintroduction team excited for the possibility of continued success of subsequent yearly reintroductions and achievement of the final goal of a viable breeding population of trumpeter swans in the Blackfoot Valley. The purpose of this professional paper is to provide a detailed chronological case history of the first year of the trumpeter swan reintroduction program in the Blackfoot Valley of western Montana, and summarize the key lessons learned while making recommendations for how the process could be improved. I plan to illustrate the processes undertaken by the different partners involved that are currently making the Blackfoot trumpeter swan reintroduction project a successful endeavor. Then, by analyzing what worked well and what did not work well in the Blackfoot reintroduction process, I will attempt to draw conclusions and make recommendations as to how other groups interested in similar reintroductions could learn from our experience in the Blackfoot Valley. Therefore, the target audience for this professional paper is twofold. On the one hand, this professional paper will be he…
abstract: Since 2003, United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) personnel have been working together with state and local officials to reintroduce a viable population of trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) to wetlands in the Blackfoot River Valley of western Montana. I had the great opportunity to be involved with this project while completing a Masters in Environmental Studies at the University of Montana. During the time I was involved, we conducted a habitat analysis, worked to prepare wetlands for swan use, released the first cohort of reintroduced trumpeter swans in the Blackfoot Valley, and tracked their movements until they left for winter. While the long-term viability of the trumpeter swan population in the Blackfoot cannot be known at such an early point in the effort, the return of some of the first-year birds to their release wetland the following spring has members of the reintroduction team excited for the possibility of continued success of subsequent yearly reintroductions and achievement of the final goal of a viable breeding population of trumpeter swans in the Blackfoot Valley. The purpose of this professional paper is to provide a detailed chronological case history of the first year of the trumpeter swan reintroduction program in the Blackfoot Valley of western Montana, and summarize the key lessons learned while making recommendations for how the process could be improved. I plan to illustrate the processes undertaken by the different partners involved that are currently making the Blackfoot trumpeter swan reintroduction project a successful endeavor. Then, by analyzing what worked well and what did not work well in the Blackfoot reintroduction process, I will attempt to draw conclusions and make recommendations as to how other groups interested in similar reintroductions could learn from our experience in the Blackfoot Valley. Therefore, the target audience for this professional paper is twofold. On the one hand, this professional paper will be he…
author: Ferrasci-O'Malley, Brian Kevin
keywords: Blackfoot Valley, species reintroduction, trumpeter swans
date published: 2008-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:11:51Z
provider: University of Montana
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Montana