The Time Capsule | Roy Marshall
On our front page in early May was an article about the release of a pair of trumpeter swans at Viking Lake. A picture, which shows swans, spectators and DNR employees, is similar to others we’ve seen since the swan repopulation project began in 1993. The article discloses that this may be the last attempt at Viking.
The birds haven’t done well there. This may be partly because people have been known to throw rocks at them, feed them things they shouldn’t and harass the birds in other ways. Swans probably don’t like being chased by boats. One mated pair did settle in, nested and would likely now be parents had they not been attacked by a dog. (Dogs in the park are supposed to be on a leash, but rules get broken.) A park employee told me the female, Minnie, died from her injuries about the time the two young swans were released.
If dolts, boats and dogs aren’t enough, certain wildlife biologists gave swans another challenge.
The two released on May 10 strolled across our backyard a couple of days later, and for several weeks a pair my wife called George and Gracie lived on our farm pond. We watched them with the 20x60 spotting scope I’d bought several years ago because of otters. This memory led to a conversation about DNR projects that have strayed, not all of which are welcome.
It probably began in this area with a non-native the Conservation Commission introduced while construction of the new park was underway. They planted multiflora rose — a curse that persists. Those God-awful brambles were eventually declared a noxious weed, neighbors have been trying to get rid of it ever since, and overseers of the park should have learned a lesson. Instead they planted Russian Olive. Worse than multiflora rose, this import has been labeled an environmental threat by Minnesota’s DNR, while other experts have gone so far as to call it an ecological disaster. The current park ranger is trying, but it’s easier to turn a monster loose than catch it. I can’t imagine they’ll ever eradicate Russian Olive in the park, but even if they do it’s already spread. Drive roads near the lake and you’ll see what has been declared a noxious weed in numerous states sprouting by the hundreds in ditches, fencerows and elsewhere, including a large tract of county-owned land adjoining the park.
A few readers will recall when yellow bass were put into the lake; some say intentionally, others say not and I don’t know. I do know, though, that at around the time yellow bass were multiplying the DNR called in the media for their otter release.
Yellow bass ruined fishing and a decision was made to drain the lake and start over. When this happened, the repopulated otters needed a home and moved to nearby ponds. Cute rascals they were, splashing and playing and killing fish. I’d stocked for several years and had catfish up to eight pounds. Otters kill for fun, they’re good at it, and in a small farm pond won’t stop until there’s nothing left to slaughter. I called DNR, asked if they’d come get their otters. They would not. A friend and I dealt with them, but too late for the fish and we had to restock.
The recently released swans seemed to have found a home, then otters came. On May 28 I watched them circle, much as dolphins do a fishing boat. Dolphins are playing; and maybe the otters were as well. Swans didn’t like it, though, and the otters persisted. They’d hump and dive, then pop to the surface, startling the birds and driving them from the water. On the afternoon of June 4, after several days of being chased, the swans left.
As of this writing we don’t know if they found a safe place. What we do know is that multiflora rose is thriving, Russian Olive spreading like the plague, and the otter family will soon have this pond cleaned out and move on to do someone else’s.
DNR biologists spend a lot of time and taxpayer money giving us new plants and animals. Maybe they should put that on hold until they fix their mistakes.
Roy Marshall is a local historian and columnist for the Red Oak Express. He can be contacted at news@redoakexpress.com.