Saving Trumpeter Swans at Lonesome Lake

Oct 13, 2011
Melody Rhodes

Trumpeter Swans - Photo: Gracey

Ralph Edwards and his daughter Trudy horse-packed barley over treacherous mountains to save the trumpeter swan population at Lonesome Lake.

Lonesome Lake is situated in Tweedsmuir Park, within the rugged Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. The lake--and a man who would later come to be called "Crusoe of Lonesome Lake"--would play a crucial role in saving endangered trumpeter swans.

During the years 1912-1966, Ralph Edwards carved a homestead for himself and his family in the Atnarko Valley at a place he named Lonesome Lake. While he chose to live off the beaten track in the remote Canadian wilderness, his heroic efforts to save vanishing trumpeter swans garnered worldwide attention.

Ralph noticed the magnificent birds his first winter at Lonesome Lake. With a wingspan of up to eight feet and loudly trumpeting their arrival, the giant birds were hard to miss.

A Fateful Meeting at Ootsa Lake Spells Relief for the Swans

In 1926, while on a guiding trip to Ootsa Lake, Ralph met up with John P. Holman, a member of the Audubon Society. Holman questioned him about the trumpeter swans at Lonesome Lake and later contacted the provincial game warden about the flock. The warden alerted J. A. Munro, Chief Migratory Bird Warden for B.C. who contacted the Edwards family, requesting information about the swans. Ralph and his wife Ethel began keeping a swan log and later mailed it to Munro.

This intervention was timely. In the 1800s, the birds had been hunted to near extinction, as game and prized for skins, down, feathers and quills. By the 1930s, the known world population of trumpeter swans totaled less than 100. About one-third of that number wintered at Lonesome Lake.

Saving the Trumpeter Swans at Lonesome Lake

Ralph observed that cold weather posed the greatest threat to the dwindling swan population and, in the severe winter of 1932-33, he was directed to purchase barley to feed the swans, thus setting in motion a chain of events that would spell the difference between survival and extinction for the trumpeters. The undertaking was challenging. 100-pound sacks had to be transported (by humans or horses) over miles of rugged terrain to the swans wintering at Lonesome Lake.

In 1936, due to flooding, more than half of the trumpeter swan flock died. Ralph and later, his daughter, Trudy, continued to protect and feed the starving swans by horse-packing tons of barley into their feeding area to ensure their survival through the harsh winter months. At times, in -30 weather, the Edwards family broke ice over feeding areas and made sure the swans had drinking water available. At one point, in 1956, when temperatures plummeted, Ralph appealed to the Canadian Wildlife Service to fly in emergency grain supplies.

The Edwards' efforts on behalf of the trumpeter swans were successful. By the 1960s, the swan population had grown to 400-500 swans at Lonesome Lake and other feeding areas in the Atnarko Valley. In time, the swans migrated to former breeding areas in the Peace River area, on Vancouver Island, and in the Northern United States. {1}

Ralph was awarded the Order of Canada Medal in 1972 {2}; Trudy was honored with a personal letter of thanks from the Queen.

Heroic Conservation Efforts

The Edwards family battled the elements to live in the pristine Chilcotin wilderness but their dedication to the starving flock at Lonesome Lake turned into their greatest triumph and legacy: saving the majestic trumpeter swans from probable extinction and thus preserving the species for the enjoyment of future generations.

Sources:

Burkette, Pat, "Lonesome Lake Fire: Putting Emotion Back Into it. Pat Burkette Talks to Trudy Turner" Salt Spring News, Aug, 2004
Gold, Ed, Ralph Edwards of Lonesome Lake, Hancock House Pubs Ltd. 1981 {1} P. 291, {2} P. 292
Turner, Trudy/McVeigh, Ruth M., Fogswamp: Living With Swans in the Wilderness, Hancock House Pub Ltd., 1977
Stowe, Leland, Crusoe of Lonesome Lake, Random House, 1957