The Swan Project

Increasing the resident Trumpeter Swan population in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana

The Swan Project is a multi-year partnership between The Ricketts Conservation Foundation and The Wyoming Wetlands Society to increase the number of Trumpeter Swans in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem.

The Trumpeter Swan is among the great, iconic birds of North America. Trumpeter Swans, however, are reluctant to fly long distances in search of new nesting sites and are unwilling to explore areas without an existing swan presence. The result is that extensive quality swan habitat in the Intermountain West remains unoccupied.

The Swan Project’s goal is to overcome these challenges through the strategic release of captive-reared birds into suitable, yet unoccupied, swan habitat, providing connectivity between current swan nesting populations in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.

By populating closely linked, ideal habitat sections, the Swan Project will be “connecting the dots,” creating a single, interconnected swan population that greatly increases the population’s chance of survival.

Partner

The Ricketts Conservation Foundation is proud to partner with
The Wyoming Wetlands Society on The Swan Project.  The Wyoming Wetlands Society and The Ricketts Conservation Foundation share a common vision to increase the population of Trumpeter Swans in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem.