Mute Swans in Maryland: Report of the 2009 Mute Swan Advisory Committee
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Wildlife and Heritage Service
May 13, 2009

Process and Procedures
In accordance with the need to review the status of the mute swan (Cygnus olor) population and its ecological significance in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay waters, in early 2009, Secretary of Natural Resources John R. Griffin convened a group of representatives with various Chesapeake Bay conservation interests.

The previous mute swan management plan under which the Department of Natural Resources (hereafter Department) had been operating (Mute Swans in Maryland: A Statewide Management Plan, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife and Heritage Service’ April 14, 2003) suggested a five-year timeline for the plan to be “assessed and revised based on progress towards the plan’s goals and objectives and the results of research and monitoring efforts.”

The Mute Swan Advisory Committee (hereafter Committee) was made up of conservationists, animal rights proponents, scientists, and Federal and State agency personnel.  Deputy Secretary Eric Schwaab attended the first meeting, introduced his designated chairman, Jonathan McKnight, Associate Wildlife Director and presented the Committee with its charge:

The Department’s Mute Swan Management Plan is scheduled for a revision during the spring of 2009.  In preparation for the revision, the Department has assembled a Mute Swan Advisory Committee to provide guidance to the Department on the management of non-native mute swans in Maryland.

The Committee includes members with widely divergent opinions about mute swan management. 

The Committee is asked to advise the Department on the most appropriate strategy to manage mute swans to ensure the long-term protection of important Chesapeake Bay living resources.

The Mute Swan Advisory Committee functioned as an ad-hoc consensus-based group.  Meetings were informal to maximize the exchange of information and the interchange of opinion and discussion.  Reports were presented by Department scientific staff and presentations were made by various committee members.  Several private citizens attended and were also afforded an opportunity to make statements to the Committee.

The Committee met for three sessions, each lasting from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on February 17^th, March 19^th, and April 16^th, 2009.  Committee membership and affiliation and agenda for the meetings are attached as addenda to this report.  Information was exchanged between meetings and the writing and editing of the written report was accomplished after the conclusion of the meeting process.

Report of the Committee
The Mute Swan Advisory Committee (hereafter Committee) was able to reach complete consensus on a number of important issues which are unanimously forwarded as recommendations to the Secretary of Natural Resources for his consideration.  These are:

1. Department personnel should continue its egg-addling program to prevent recruitment of additional mute swans into the Chesapeake Bay population
2. The Department should not use managed hunting as a population control measure.

3. The mute swan is not native to North America.

There was not complete agreement among the Committee membership as to the way forward for mute swan management in Maryland and as a result, the Committee divided into two groups to prepare recommendations for the Secretary.  The resulting reports – the “minority” and “majority” reports – follow.

Click on individual reports below to view or download the document.

Majority Report

Minority Report