Fall Trumpeter Swan Survey of the High Plains Flock

The annual fall trumpeter swan survey is conducted to determine production and distribution for a portion of the Interior Population of trumpeter swans called the High Plains Flock, in accordance with the Interior Population and High Plains Flock trumpeter swan management plans (1997 and 2005, respectively). Each plan outlines population objectives (VI-2 and A-1) and management strategies for monitoring population status, which includes aerial surveys in South Dakota and Nebraska. These surveys are part of a trumpeter swan monitoring program that spans over two decades to track abundance trends in the flock and condition of the wetlands swans inhabit