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Swans on Lake Charlotte

The first Trumpeter Swans that I ever saw in this area were on Lake Charlotte south of Long Prairie. It was twenty years ago. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I’d never seen such magnificent creatures. I’d never dreamed I’d see Trumpeter Swans on Lake Charlotte or any other lake.

When I was a kid I heard that Trumpeter Swans were nearly extinct. They could be counted in the dozens and weren’t long for this world. Then, as a young adult, I read E.B. White’s delightful story The Trumpet of the Swan. The message was the same: Trumpeter Swans were highly endangered and only hung on in remote northern locations and in inaccessible locations in the western mountains.

Swans on Lake Charlotte
Photo by Sue Farmer


Since that first sighting on Lake Charlotte I’ve had numerous and wonderful encounters with Trumpeters. A flock blessed me by flying over my head at tree top level. The rush of their magnificent wings nearly lifted me off my feet. I came across a pair while camping at the hike in lakes at Itasca Park. And for the past two summers a pair has nested on a beaver lodge in a pond up the road.

The return of the Trumpeters from the brink of extinction is partly due to the wonderful resilience of the species. But it’s also due to the fact that we humans made a choice. We decided that the swans were worth saving. Then talented and dedicated biologists and administrators in state and federal agencies, using the best science, brought them back to the point that Trumpeter Swans are now thriving.

The same is true of the Bald Eagle, the Peregrine Falcon, and the Sandhill Crane. There was no profit in it. But we as a people made a choice to invest the resources to preserve a species.

Every time I see a Bald Eagle or hear a Sandhill Crane I think how lucky I am to be on earth with them. And I once again thank the citizens, politician, scientists, public regulators, and administrators that had the vision and courage to make sure that it was so.

We must fight those who think that if a swan cannot profit the shareholders of a distant corporation it is just in the way. We must do all we can to be sure swans will be landing on Lake Charlotte for generations to come. We must continue to make the right choices.


You can read about the return of the Trumpeter Swans here

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