Governor DeWine announces trumpeter swans removed from threatened species list

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Director Mary Mertz announced Friday that the Ohio Wildlife Council has voted to remove the trumpeter swan from the state’s threatened species list. The delisting culminates a 28-year effort by the ODNR Division of Wildlife to restore a population of trumpeter swans in Ohio.

Ohio’s trumpeter swan population today stands at nearly 900, with swans nesting in 26 different counties.

“Ohio’s professional wildlife biologists dedicated themselves to growing the trumpeter swan population over nearly three decades, and their perseverance has paid off,” said Governor DeWine. “In addition to monitoring the growth of the trumpeter swan population, a great deal of work also went into creating and restoring wetland habitat needed for generations of trumpeters to nest and thrive.”

Trumpeter swan populations experienced severe declines throughout North America in the 1700s and 1800s because of unregulated harvest and wetland habitat loss. They were extirpated from Ohio as early as the 1700s.

Following aquatic habitat improvements and successful reintroductions in other Midwest states, the Division of Wildlife began a trumpeter swan reintroduction program in 1996 by collecting swan eggs from an established population at the Minto Flats State Game Refuge in central Alaska. The eggs were placed in incubators and flown to Ohio, where the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and The Wilds of the Columbus Zoo partnered to help care for the eggs, raise the young trumpeters, and release them in appropriate habitats. 

Trumpeter swans were listed as an endangered species upon release and populations have been on the rise ever since, leading to a positive downgrade to threatened status in 2012.

“Trumpeter swans represent a great comeback story for Ohio. This is just one of many examples of the conservation work ODNR has been doing for the last 75 years,” said Director Mertz. “Through the hard work and dedication of our staff and conservation partners we can once again see trumpeter swans fly through Ohio’s skies.”

Wetland complexes on state wildlife areas such as Funk Bottoms, Killdeer Plains, Magee Marsh and Mosquito Creek provided the critical habitat Ohio’s trumpeters needed. Today, programs such as H2Ohio are restoring more wetlands on public and private lands with benefits of improved water quality for all Ohioans and enhanced wildlife habitats.

Ohio’s 2010 Swan Management Plan established a goal for delisting trumpeter swans when the population reached 40 or more breeding pairs for three consecutive years. Biologists confirmed more than 40 breeding pairs for the first time in 2015 and every year since. Ohio hosted 152 breeding pairs in 2023. Another prerequisite for delisting was for trumpeters to breed in at least 15 counties. The latest survey documented trumpeters breeding in 26 counties. By both metrics, trumpeter swan populations have surpassed the Division of Wildlife’s management goals for the species.

The recovery of the trumpeter swan is a monumental conservation success story in Ohio. The trumpeter’s recovery parallels the restoration of bald eagle and osprey populations in the last several decades. Trumpeters will continue to receive protection in the state under federal and state wildlife laws. The Division of Wildlife’s monitoring and management efforts to increase trumpeter swan populations and their habitat are ongoing.

The Ohio Wildlife Council is an eight-member, bipartisan group of citizens appointed by Governor DeWine to advise and assist the Division of Wildlife and to report their findings to the governor. The council also reviews and votes on all Division of Wildlife proposed rules and regulations.

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