A new book tells the story of how swans returned, otters recovered in MN

Published February 19, 2026 at 10:37 AM CST

A Trumpeter Swan stretches its wings over seven small, fuzzy cygnets near Bemidji, Minnesota on June 17, 2024. They are swimming in calm water dotted with lily pads. — A Trumpeter Swan stretches its wings over seven small, fuzzy cygnets near Bemidji on June 17, 2024.

Retired wildlife biologist Carrol Henderson's new book explores the legacy of Minnesota's Nongame Wildlife Program. Henderson and KAXE regular Pam Perry shared the story on the KAXE Morning Show.

Driving around Minnesota in the winter, you'd be hard-pressed to find many patches of open water without a Trumpeter Swan or two hanging out nearby.

A man smiles as he has arms around a white trumpeter swan. — The founder of the Minnesota Nongame Wildlife Program, Carrol Henderson, with his arms around a Trumpeter Swan. The population went from 69 swans in the 1930s in the lower 48 states of the United States to more than 50,000 in the state of Minnesota today.

In the early 1980s, however, these charismatic birds had been completely extirpated from Minnesota. Their reintroduction was headed by Carrol Henderson and his growing crew of biologists. Henderson was the head of the then-brand-new Department of Natural Resources Nongame Wildlife Program, and that group of biologists included KAXE regular Pam Perry.

In an interview on the KAXE Morning Show, Henderson and Perry tell the story of the program's beginnings, including an otter's escapade in an elementary school and the transport of 40 Trumpeter Swans in an Air National Guard plane.

Thanks to their work, Minnesota now hosts the largest population of Trumpeter Swans in the lower 48 states: over 50,000 individuals! Otters have recovered much of their original range as well, thanks to a trapping program run by Henderson and the rest of the team.

Enjoy the conversation above, and you can find Carrol Henderson's new book, A National Legacy: Fifty Years of Nongame Wildlife Conservation in Minnesota, here.

Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).