Teton Regional Land Trust’s stewardship team has been working hard on special wildlife projects this fall in addition to their regular site visit schedules and helping with the Greater Yellowstone Crane Festival. September has been a busy month for the stewardship staff! Crane and Swan photos provided by Linda M Swope.
Trumpeter Swan Release
In mid-September, Teton Regi
onal Land Trust released nine cygnet Trumpeter Swans to complete the twelfth swan release in Teton Basin since the Teton Basin Trumpeter Swan Restoration Project began in 2013. To date, 64 Trumpeter Swans have been released through this project which celebrates partnerships between TRLT, Wyoming Wetlands Society, Idaho Fish and Game, donors, volunteers, and landowners. This project also celebrates our connection to the land and the wildlife that inhabits it.
This year, Bill Long, of the Wyoming Wetlands Society, Land Trust staff, and staff from Idaho Fish and Game gathered to release the cygnets. Prior to being released into the protected wetland, the swans were fitted with identifying Idaho Fish and Game leg bands. The swans have a silver leg band on one leg and a green leg band with a white letter and numbers on the other leg.
If you see Trumpeter Swa
ns in Teton Basin (particularly those with leg bands), please let us know! You can report observations to Nicole Cyr, Stewardship Associate, via email at nicole@tetonlandtrust.org or via phone at 208-354-8939 ext. 11. We are grateful to all our partners and supporters who make this project possible.
If you are interested in learning more about Trumpeter Swans including their history in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, threats, and restoration efforts, you can read the article “Swan Songs and Trumpets of Biological Recovery” by Todd Wilkinson (link below).
https://yellowstonian.org/swan-songs-and-trumpets-of-biological-recovery/
Sandhill Crane Monitoring
During the entire month of September, Land Trust staff along with a crew of 23 volunteers, counted Sandhill Cranes two days a week during their premigration staging in Teton Valley. Each fall, thousands of Sandhill Cranes from across the region, including Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, gather in the Upper Snake River Valley to rest and refuel before migrating south. Drawn by the valley’s rare mix of wetlands and working farmland, this area supports the largest premigration staging population of Sandhill Cranes in the Greater Yellowstone and is one of the most important stopovers for the entire Rocky Mountain Population.
The crane counts follow established routes that capture as many sightings of the big birds as possible by staying close to grain fields throughout the valley as well as food plots purposely planted for cranes through the Grain for Cranes program which plants grain lure crops to compensate for habitat loss, mitigate agricultural conflicts, and provide reliable food resources during critical staging periods.
Monitoring is one of the goals of our Greater Yellowstone Sandhill Crane Initiative. Monitoring helps us observe trends in the Sandhill Crane population to justify our current conservation strategy, as well as identify potential areas to expand conservation efforts.
Fence Removal Project
Teton Regional Land Trust partnered with Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation (JHWF) to remove 0.8 miles of fence line from along the Teton River south of Nickerson Bridge last month. This fence was removed from two privately held conservation easement properties totaling just over 200 acres. 19 volunteers, plus two of our stewardship staff and two JHFW staff completed this project on September 10th. Over 1,100 lbs. of wire were removed!
These properties provide important habitat for waterbirds, Sandhill Cranes, Trumpeter Swans, and migrating ungulates, such as mule deer, moose, and elk. With the fence gone, the riparian corridor along Teton River is now easier for wildlife to traverse and they will no longer risk entanglement in fence wires here.
