GUEST EDITORIAL

We captured them, imported and confined them -- but they escaped. Now New Englanders want to wipe them out. One reader says there are lessons to be learned from a popular children’s fantasy.
(Read below)

Lessons Found in Fairy Tales  

For generations the classic tale of "The Ugly Duckling" by Hans Christian Anderson has entertained children while teaching them an invaluable life lesson. Even the very young can see the injustice of discriminating against others merely because they are different. The ugly duckling eventually strikes out on his own to find a habitat where he will fit in. Although he barely survives his first year of life, the ugly duckling grows into a beautiful swan, is accepted by others, and lives happily ever after.

But alas this is a fairy tale. In real life, today’s ugly duckling is a species of waterfowl known as the mute swan, native to Andersen’s Denmark and much of Europe -- but not to North America. Like an illegal immigrant, this non-native is in jeopardy here. This species was introduced to North America in the latter part of the 19^th century by public officials and the wealthy owners of grand New York estates to decorate their private ponds and city parks with its grace and beauty. Some of these mute swans escaped to east coast marshes, adapting very well to the wild in their new habitat. But unfortunately, as a result of its successful adaptation, the "ugly duckling" once again finds itself to be an unwelcome addition. Here in New Hampshire and along much of the east coast, these feral swans are at the center of a heated controversy. .

Until this spring, when I sighted my first "wild swan" swimming on Eel Pond in Rye, NH, I was totally unaware of the controversy. According to the majority of wildlife officials, these feral swans have a negative impact on native habitat, consuming aquatic vegetation and exhibiting aggressive and territorial behavior which threatens native species of waterfowl and humans who inhabit the same area -- especially when the swans are mating and nesting. It should be noted that these behaviors are similar to native North American swans. Defenders of the mute swan argue that the impact studies are skewed and anecdotal at best. These studies, they contend, are being utilized to open and/or expand already existing hunting seasons on the mute swans as opposed to protecting them in the same manner as native swans or other species of waterfowl native to North America.

Both groups agree that the diminishing swan habitat along the East Coast is a serious issue. They also agree that the degradation of the East Coast waterways began long before the mute swan arrived here. Both sides recognize that human development and the resulting pollution are the primary cause of the problem, not the mute swans. It seems to me that the feral swans have become scapegoats. The most recent visitors to arrive are inevitably the easiest to blame and the easiest to legislate away, rather than control the native waterfowl or the humans who have already damaged the ecosystem. Removing the non-natives is certainly self-righteous, when it was our ancestors, many of whom came from Europe themselves, who captured the mute swans and brought them here.

Is it possible to find common ground and a way for this elegant creature to coexist peacefully with the native inhabitants? It might be if each side moves beyond polarizing rhetoric and begins to recognize that the mute swan is no more threatening to the ecosystem than the native swans are. To treat them differently by imposing legislation merely because they are not a native species, will not resolve the bigger issue of our diminished, damaged, and depleted coastal ecosystem. To suggest that reducing the numbers of mute swans, or ridding ourselves of the entire species will restore the balance of this fragile habitat is simplistic. To believe that humans can continue to build up and down the coast, overfish its waterways, and maintain the status quo for the native flora and fauna is wishful thinking.

Here in New Hampshire, unlike the other states along the East Coast, the population of mute swans has, so far, been controlled in part by black flies. They carry a disease that kills many of the young birds. New Hampshire wildlife officials also manage the population through "birth control", that is, by eliminating some of the mute swan eggs. This combination of natural an manmade control has so far maintained this delicate balance here in New Hampshire, allowing me, and countless others, the opportunity to view this majestic creature in the wild.

It is my hope that both sides will continue their swan conversation, while addressing the bigger issues that threaten our coastal waterways, so that future generations might continue to view the natural beauty our coastal habitat provides for each of us. It is also my hope that the mute swans will not be managed to extinction merely because they are different. Maybe both sides should gain a little wisdom by rereading Anderson’s classic fairy tale.

Deborah Lee McGrath taught World History and US History for 20 years. She is currently working to reinstate an adult education and enrichment program in the ConVal School District in NH. She is also a freelance newspaper writer and photographer.