Expressing gratitude is important in a world filled with bad news. This is especially true when it comes to the environment, where we are often faced with a sense of loss. We need to take note of success stories, where people armed with scientific data have acted boldly to save species.
Washington’s Skagit valley in the winter is a fine place to notice the gains we have made in species recovery. Reductions in pesticide use, establishment of habitat refuges, hunting restrictions and improved agricultural practices all contributed to this phenomenon. Here are four species that you can find there today; each was once in woefully short supply.
Trumpeter Swan
As soon as you open your car door in many parts of the Skagit Flats, you are likely to be greeted with the loud honking call of Trumpeter Swans. At 20-40 pounds, the largest species of waterfowl is hard to miss. Unfortunately for this species, it was also hard to miss by the hunters who over-harvested them for two centuries until they nearly became extinct.
Large-scale Trumpeter Swan harvesting began in the 1700s to 1800s, when these long-winged, large-bodied birds were killed primarily for their quills, the primary writing instrument during these two centuries. They were also hunted for food and their skins. By the mid-1930’s, only 50 Trumpeter Swans remained in the United States, and 77 in Canada. Since then, thanks to hunting bans and successful conservation efforts, there are now about 60,000 Trumpeter Swans in the US and Canada. 
Snow Goose
Some fields in the Skagit Valley are literally whitened by the presence of thousands of Snow Geese on the otherwise muddy, crop stubble-covered ground. At times, huge flocks take flight, casting bright white bands in the sky against a backdrop of the Cascade Mountains, accompanied by a cacophony of goose chatter. This combination has become iconic to the Skagit Valley in winter.
It was not always this way. These gregarious geese were nearly silenced forever in the early 1900s when their population was reduced by over-hunting to dangerously low levels. In 1916, hunting was banned for nearly 50 years until the Snow Goose population had recovered to sufficient levels in the 1970s. The hunt has been back on since then. According to the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, “Snow Geese have (since) skyrocketed in numbers and are now are one of the most abundant waterfowl species on the continent.” Some 150,000 winter in the Skagit and Fraser Valleys of the Pacific Northwest alone. Another large population winters in central California. Both populations breed on Russia’s Wrangel Island.
Bald Eagle
On a recent trip to the Skagit Flats, we tallied 96 Bald Eagles in just four hours. There was a time in the early 1960’s when Bald Eagles were not only scarce but endangered. Back then, only 417 pairs remained in the lower-48 states of the US. In my home state of Illinois, the number was 0, the same number of Bald Eagles that remained in 15 other states where they had also been extirpated. Colorado only reported one pair at this bleak time in history for Bald Eagles. 
Since then, due to enlightened actions taken by government agencies, tribes, nonprofits and individuals, Bald Eagles are back. In fact, in my home state of Illinois, there were 3,100 Bald Eagles reported in 2021. All of the other states where they were previously extirpated now also have thriving Bald Eagle Populations. The national population has rebounded to 316,000 individuals, or about 158,000 pairs. Instead of destroying our national icon, we restored its population nation-wide. This is what success looks like.
Peregrine Falcon
On my recent travels to Skagit Flats, we saw two Peregrine Falcons at the Hayden Unit of the Skagit Wildlife Refuge. It is always a thrill to see them. I am old enough to remember when they were an Endangered Species, both in our state and nationally. In 1980, there were only five active eyries (nest sites) for Peregrines in Washington State. Things are much better now. According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife: “Peregrine Falcons have experienced a remarkable recovery and the population continues to increase across Washington.” There are now 170 breeding territories and some 340 Peregrine Falcons in the state. This, after almost being eradicated by pesticide poisoning in the mid-20th century.
The recoveries of these four species illustrate what good people can do to save a fellow species, and in the process, make the environment cleaner and healthier for all of us. We now know that bird species are threatened with extinction by climate change. The hopeful news, according to Elizabeth Gray, CEO of National Audubon Society, “Is that it is not too late…if we take action now, we can help improve the chances for three quarters of the species that are at risk.”
“Hope,” as Emily Dickson once wrote, “is the thing with feathers.”
For a first-hand account of birding in Skagit Flats, read Brian Cantwell’s excellent Blog: https://brianjcantwell.com/2022/02/04/old-friends-soaring-birds-high-spirits-in-the-magic-skagit/
