Great Falls Tribune June 7, 2006

ACROSS the BIG SKY

Biologists release trumpeter swans

Seventeen trumpeter swans were released in the Blackfoot Valley Saturday.

Biologists are trying to establish the first self-sustaining trumpeter swan population in the valley. The goal is to encourage the swans to migrate in the winter and then return next summer.
 
Last year wildlife biologists planted 10 swans in a pond near Ovando. Of the 10 swans released last June, biologists know what became of about half.

The 17 additional birds were released in three locations in the same general area as the 2005 release. The exact location is kept private to protect the birds.

An anonymous donor contributed money to the Blackfoot Challenge to fund the swan reintroduction.

Establishing a breeding population could take five to 10 years, but because the young birds are learning to fly in the Blackfoot Valley, odds are good they will return.