Wisconsin may remove swans from endangered list

Swans in flight
A group of trumpeter swans fly together near the Mississippi River in central Minnesota.
Photo courtesy of Jim Brandenburg

(AP) - Wisconsin wildlife officials are considering removing trumpeter swans from the state endangered species list.

Wildlife ecologists say there were no breeding and migratory pairs in 1986, but the trumpeter swan population has grown to 126 pairs across 20 counties this year.

The state Department of Natural Resources also is considering taking ospreys off the state threatened species list.

The insecticide DDT devastated ospreys in the 1950s and '60s, but the population has rebounded and held steady at more than 400 nesting pairs since 2003.

A public hearing on the proposals is set for Oct. 20 in Madison.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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