Published October 21, 2009

Letter: Down with DNR on swan decision chat

By Marjorie Heeren, Worthington, Worthington Daily Globe

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wes h.
Sioux Falls, SD     10/31/2009 12:00 AM

I absolutely love baby ducks [ducklings]. But I don't look at any websites that I'm not familiar with.I do believe c.c.has good pictures of ducks at the fish ponds. Again I think it is up to the owners of the non native swans to provide housing for their birds. I don't know how to make it clearer than that.

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wes h.
Sioux Falls, SD     10/27/2009 5:06 PM

I was talking to my Worthington sibling today who thought that native ducks might nest on the fish ponds so I think Brandon R is correct that the city property is not good either for keeping the swans on. The original writer of this article thought it was a big deal that the owners of the swans feed them at their own expense. Well why shouldn't they feed their birds? They are also responsible for fencing their swans in. It would be no big deal to put up a fence. I'm sure plenty of reputable contractors would be happy to erect a fence on the owners property. I don't understand why people want to give the DNR people a rough time for doing their job enforcing Federal Migratory Bird laws. Seems to me awhile back people were griping about ICE enforcing immigration laws at JBS. I thank both the DNR people and the ICE people for doing their job. Well done.

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wes h.
Sioux Falls, SD     10/24/2009 3:51 PM

Brandon R.while I believe you and I are in agreement to a large extent but I don't think the fish rearing ponds are used for fish any more. In just driving around the ponds I couldn't tell if any ducks and geese were nesting there. The ponds did seem to have a lot of reeds around them so it was hard to see very much. I get to Worthington often because I have a sibling living there yet. All my parents and grandparents lived there at one time. I also lived and worked in Worthington for a few years.

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Brandon R.
Windom, MN     10/24/2009 2:18 PM

City property is still not a good idea as native waterfowl may use the fish rearing ponds for nesting. If the mute swans uproot vegetation they'll certainly create cloudy water, reducing the water quality and inhibiting the growth of walleye frye. Uprooting of vegetation will also remove nesting cover for native waterfowl.

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wes h.
Sioux Falls, SD     10/22/2009 8:47 AM

That's some good information c.c. I saw those trumpeter swans a few years ago in Sunset Bay too. I think there were 4 or 5 of them. I was reading somewhere that mute swans have taken over areas of the great lakes and were hindering the trumpeter swans from nesting there. Mute swans can be very aggresive. 40 some years ago I was hauling rock with a wheelbarrow and spreading it around the ponds of a private game reserve. Along with all the other ducks and geese there were mute swans. Every time I tried to dump the rock on shore one male mute swan tried to attack me. I had to keep him at bay with a shovel. Regardless of all the opinions the DNR has said the law must be obeyed and I think that is the final answer.The swans have to be confined.

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Bill R.
Tracy, MN     10/21/2009 11:01 PM

wes h., nobody's proposing completely eliminating wild horses, even though there's lots of 'em. But God forbid the spread of mute swans. They'll ruin the country.

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Neal Y.
Worthington, MN     10/21/2009 9:43 PM

A few years back, I want to say 4 or 5, there was a pair of trumpeter swans that started to nest in the bay. But I think that the mute swans did run them off when they showed up.

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wes h.
Sioux Falls, SD     10/21/2009 4:04 PM

Have you noticed how the federal government keeps rounding up "wild horses". They too have been very hard on native species such as pronghorn antelope and deer. At one time they used to kill feral horses for dog food. You have convinced me of nothing Bill R. The mute swans are fine if they are kept confined. I would love to see a lot of trumpeter swans around this area.

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Bill R.
Tracy, MN     10/21/2009 3:55 PM

There are invasive species and there are invasive species. There weren't any horses in North America until Europeans brought them. Who cares if there are horses running wild. Who cares if there are swans around. Who wouldn't mind seeing more swans around.

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wes h.
Sioux Falls, SD     10/21/2009 3:02 PM

It's interesting Gary L.W. On another article about Amnesty sending the wrong message you say it's never okay to break the law yet here you say leave the swans alone unless they are sick in complete disregard of US Fish and Wildlife Service laws. Gina H. I realize they are beautiful swans. That is why I said the swan owner's suggestion to keep them on city property [fish rearing ponds] might be a good solution that is in compliance with federal statutes.

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