A Mason County man was arraigned this week on charges that he allegedly killed a trumpeter swan, which is listed as a threatened species in Michigan and protected under both state and federal laws. James G. Cameron, 19, of Custer Township was arraigned in 79th District Court in Mason County.

Cameron was arrested at his family's cottage on Wednesday, July 29, after a nearly two-month investigation by Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Brian Brosky of Mason County.

Brosky said Cameron was a suspect early in the investigation after a complaint was filed by a Custer resident who found a dead trumpeter swan on his property and immediately called the DNR's Report All Poaching (RAP) line. The resident told Brosky that the swan had lived on the property for more than 12 years. Brosky recovered the swan and sent to the DNR's Rose Lake Research Station near Lansing, where it was determined that the swan had died from gunshot wounds.

Trumpeter swans are listed as a threatened species in Michigan and protected under both state and federal laws. In addition to the applicable fines of up to $1,000, the charge also mandates restitution is paid to the State of Michigan in the amount of $1,500 for the swan.

The trumpeter swan is the largest waterfowl in North America and the largest swan in the world. Historically, trumpeter swans were most likely abundant throughout the Great Lakes region, even in the southern Michigan marshlands. However, with the settlement of America, the populations of trumpeters plummeted. Beginning in the late 1800s, European settlers cleared the land, draining and filling important marsh habitat, and market hunters took swans for their fine down and quills. By 1933, only 66 trumpeter swans remained in the United States. Nearly 100 years passed before trumpeter swans were seen again in the wild in Michigan.

During the 1980s, Michigan began a swan reintroduction program as part of the North American Restoration Plan. The Michigan commitment to the plan was establishment of three self-sustaining populations in Michigan of at least 200 swans by the year 2000.

After more than 15 years, the program can be claimed a complete success: the 2,000 count of trumpeter swans in Michigan exceeded 400 individuals.

Persons with information about any natural resources violation can call the DNR RAP Line 24 hours a day toll-free at 800-292-7800. Information can be left anonymously, and often monetary rewards are offered for information that leads to the arrest of violators.