Video Local wetlands take a Swan dive
Local wetlands take a Swan dive
Introduced from England in the 19th century as companion icons of beauty, elegance and purity, mute swans have literally taken over the fresh and brackish environments of the Atlantic Coast. They reproduce abundantly, have few predators, aggressively displace native waterfowl and have such a formidable appetite that they eat most of all submerged aquatic vegetation in lakes, ponds and estuaries, which in turn leads to erosion, anoxia and extinction of local aquatic biodiversity and their associated ecosystems. In NYC, the Wildlife Trust, and members of its Bioscape Initiative, are currently studying ways to alleviate this problem. It is true, the swans are hardly to blame. The culprit here is human 'management' - or a lack thereof.
About Our Art Prints
Signed art prints donated by three extraordinary artists are available for purchase in our art prints store, to support the programs we are engaged in. The prints include, among others, "Last Turn Your Turn" created by Robert Rauschenberg for the Earth Summit, Christo sketches of "The Gates,” a public art event by Christo and his wife Jeanne Claude that drew millions to Central Park, and "Manifest Destiny," by Alexis Rockman, showing New York City underwater in the future as a result of climate change.