Accusation: The non-native Mute Swans aggressively damage populations of native Trumpeter Swans.
One very good argument offered seems to be that the Mute Swan imported from the UK in the 1800s is competing with the native Trumpeter Swans pushing them to almost extinction. Efforts by The Trumpeter Society and others have managed to bring back the Trumpeter in areas like Yellowstone Park. Other reasons implicating humans have been a major detriment to these glorious birds.
We highly support the efforts of the Trumpeter Swan Society and ask:
"How did the relatively small population of Mute Swans in Mannington Meadows, Salem County, New Jersey endanger the Trumpeters who live in the grey and red areas as shown by the map below prepared by US Fish and Wildlife?"
Trumpeter Swan native to USA and Canada
Tundra swan- an arctic swan native to North America
Mute Swans compete with and damage populations of Tundra SwansAccusation:
"The snowy white tundra swan breeds in the Arctic and migrates many miles to winter on North America's Atlantic and Pacific coastlines, bays, and lakes. The eastern population frequents the Chesapeake Bay and North Carolina, while the western population typically winters in California."
(National Geographic site)The impact of the concern for and management of this native species of swan has supported its population to the extent that it has prospered and not only is valued for its beauty by the public but the hunting of it for sport is also allowed in many states. It has become a problem as it has turned to feeding on fields instead of the waterways in and around the polluted Chesapeake. After the relevant excerpts related to the Mute Swan from the following comprehensive report and management plan is a link to the actual document so you can read it in its entirety.
Part of the following plan details how to improve the waterways and exclude non-native species so the Tundra can again use sub aquatic vegetation. The wording is important especially to our argument for the Mannington Meadow Mute Swans.
Excerpts from:
"A
Management Plan for the Eastern Population of Tundra Swans"
"Part B Distribution and habitat of Tundra Swan
Strategy B-4: Identify and manage invasive species
"Mute swans have the potential to affect [may affect] the distribution of tundra swans."
This may occur througha. degradation of aquatic habitats by overgrazing of the mute swans,
b. direct inter-specific competition for food resources,
c. exclusion of tundra swans from preferred habitats by aggressive breeding pairs of mute swans ( Atlantic Flyway Council 2003 Larry Hindman, Maryland Dept. Natural resources personal communication.)
Recommendation 1:
Promote and implement invasive species control programs and restore native vegetation for Tundra swans( they failed to mention humans as an invasive species)
Recommendation 2
: prevent establishment of Mute Swan populations where they do not exist and reduce or eliminate mute swan populations in important Eastern Population (EP) Tundra swan staging and wintering areas.Responsibility: USFWS National Wildlife Refuges, state wildlife agencies."
Read it for yourself.
EP Tundra Swan Management Plan
Our questions:
"When the Mannington Meadows has been the specific and famous established
habitat for Mute Swans for decades, and the Tundra Swans are prospering in
the Delaware and Chesapeake and Maryland habitats, how did the State of NJ
decide our 55 Mute Swans were a threat to EP Tundra swans?
Were any Trumpeter or Tundra
swans present at the time of slaughter Oct 16, 2009?"
And...
In response to concerns expressed by the Mayor that the swans were gone, Mr. Herrighty said, "... the swans will move up and down the coast in search of warmer weather, a migration pattern that could lead to less sightings as winter approaches." Perhaps Mr. Herrighty doesn't know that Mute Swans don't migrate and only move very short distances?
Let’s clean our waterways and protect them all. . .