Return of the Trumpeter Swan
Trumpeter swans are one of North America’s conservation success stories.
They once nested across much of the continent, but were nearly wiped out as European settlement expanded westward. By the 1930s, only 69 trumpeter swans were known in the lower 48 states. Their decline was driven by hunting and human disturbance, including wetland loss.
The major legal protection was the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which protected swans and other migratory birds from unregulated killing, possession, and commercial use. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is America’s most important bird protection law. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service described the law as part of the broader conservation movement that helped protect trumpeter swans after overhunting had pushed them toward disappearance. Federal refuge protection followed. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Montana to protect one of the last known nesting concentrations of trumpeter swans in the lower 48 states. In Minnesota, the key work came later through state-led restoration, mainly through the Minnesota DNR Nongame Wildlife Program. Beginning in 1987, the DNR released trumpeter swans into suitable habitat; more than 350 swans were released through the program. Similar restoration efforts also occurred in nearby states and Ontario.
Trumpeter swans have rebounded in parts of the northwest after protection from hunting and disturbance. These efforts have helped bring them back to areas of their former breeding range, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Ontario.
However, the federal government recently has weakened the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by changing how the law is interpreted. In April 2025, the Interior Department restored a Trump-era legal opinion stating that the Act prohibits only intentional killing of migratory birds, not “incidental take” — bird deaths caused by otherwise lawful activities such as industrial hazards. This change narrows one of the country’s oldest bird-protection laws at a time when habitat loss and human activity continue to put pressure on bird populations.
Minnesota’s trumpeter swans are part of a larger story. Birds need safe places to nest, feed, and raise their young. When those places are protected, populations can recover. When those places are lost, even once-common birds can disappear.
Trumpeter swans in Minnesota. Photo by Lynn Cornell