Ranching in the spotlight at Youth Field Day
Blackfoot Valley schools enjoyed learning about sustainable ranching and land stewardship during the Challenge’s 2023 Youth Field Day.
Trumpeter Swans and Montana’s Common Loon
By Elaine Caton, Swan Restoration Coordinator Written for the Montana Loon Society‘s 2021 Newsletter In 2005, the Blackfoot Challenge in partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service began an […]
SwanBlog Update: Keep Calm and Paddle On
By Elaine Caton, Trumpeter Swan Restoration Program Coordinator In spite of a worldwide pandemic and all the associated changes to human life that have gone with it, I’m happy to […]
Tracking Swan Movements
By Elaine Caton, Trumpeter Swan Restoration Program Coordinator In July we captured two non-nesting adult swans in the Blackfoot and fitted them with very lightweight collars with GPS units. These […]
Ups and Downs
By Elaine Caton, Trumpeter Swan Restoration Program Coordinator This past spring saw quite a few days of cool, wet weather in the Blackfoot, which seemed to affect our swan productivity […]
Snow Geese Scouts
Many Blackfoot residents have noticed the unusually high numbers of Snow Geese (along with swans and ducks) in the watershed this year, and that they have been staying around longer […]
Swans in the Blackfoot: Trumpeters or Tundras?
This time of year, as well as in the fall, I have to take a close look at–or listen to–any swans I see, to know which species I’m observing. While […]
Swans in the Ruby Valley
By Elaine Caton, Swan Restoration Program Coordinator On January 19, I made my annual trip to the Ruby River Valley in southwest Montana to look for wintering Blackfoot swans. I […]
Summer Swan Roundup
Where’s the best place to be in a hot, smoky summer of fires? A wetland, of course! While the rest of us were sweating and fretting, our swans seem to have fared […]
A New Generation of Swans
It seems that every year is a little different for Trumpeter Swans in the Blackfoot, and this year is no exception! At least 36 swans returned to the watershed this […]