Residents turn to lawmakers to get new mate for lone swan

OLYMPIA — Alone, in the middle of Sylvia Lake, swims a prince without his princess.

For 25 years, Prince, a mute swan, has called Sylvia Lake home, and up until December 2007 he shared his days and nights with Princess. The two did everything together in this Gig Harbor community, including entertaining the locals, scaring away obnoxious Canada geese and hobnobbing with their duck friends.

Gordon Golob, who lives on the lake, remembers how Princess used to knock on his back door every morning to let him know she was ready for breakfast, while Prince would hang back and wait for his share.

Since Princess' death, the residents of Sylvia Lake have been concerned for the remaining swan's loneliness. Now they're turning to the Legislature to help get him a new mate.

But bringing a new princess to the lake is easier said than done.

Since 1991, mute swans, whose quiet call is not mute at all, have been classified by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) as "deleterious exotic wildlife."

The nonnative bird's appetite for eight pounds of vegetation a day and its aggressive attitude in the wild has blemished its reputation. Only two states, Washington and Oregon, say it is illegal to import, sell or possess mute swans.

Birds, such as Prince and Princess, here before the law was enacted in Washington 19 years ago, have been allowed to remain.

If Prince were to get a mail-order bride, those responsible for her introduction to the 11-acre lake could be charged with a felony, receive up to a $10,000 fine and spend five years in prison.

No one at Sylvia Lake wants to trade in their waterfront home for the jailhouse. So they have asked state lawmakers to rid the swans, which live in pairs that mate for life, of the "deleterious exotic" label.

House Bill 2476 would allow privately owned lakes of up to 20 acres to acquire two mute swans if they have been sexually altered so they cannot reproduce and their wings have been clipped. Sylvia Lake residents have said they are not interested in breeding the birds. They just want a pair, explaining they have 25 years' experience with the swans and, during that time, aggressiveness has not been a problem.

"It would be a benefit to our constituents and other areas as beautiful as this," said Rep. Jan Angel, R-Port Orchard.

As a sponsor of the bill, Angel testified this week before the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources. She said she recently had visited Gig Harbor and was moved by the single swan out in the lake.

Angel and other supporters of the bill agreed that not only were the swans delightful to watch and befriend, but they also protect the integrity of the lake by acting as a natural repellent for Canada geese, which they argue are much more harmful to natural resources.

Lona Kerzman, manager of Hidden Lake Apartments in Lakewood, testified that 12 years ago a gaggle of Canada geese took over the property to the point that residents could not use the lawn or enjoy the lake, in part because each bird produced 1.5 pounds of droppings a day.

Then they heard that the unwanted tenants had natural enemies — mute swans, which simply chased the geese away, Kerzman said.

Now Ricky and Lucy, as she calls the feathered pair, live peacefully at Hidden Lake alongside numerous pets and children, she said.

"We have no doubt that the citizens have enjoyed the mute swans, and we respect that," said Eric Anderson, of the WDFW.

The agency denied past petitions to remove the mute swans from the deleterious exotic list. The agency worries the swans will have an adverse effect on native habitat and wildlife, and regulating the population would be a logistical nightmare.

The WDFW said it had contacted a number of Eastern states, where there are roughly 7,000 free-flying mute swans on the Atlantic Flyway, and were warned "if you don't have them, don't get them."

Friends of Prince say it is simple: They just want two swans.

"This is a court of last resort," said Bill Higday, secretary of the Lake Sylvia homeowners association. The committee is to vote Tuesday.

Lillian Tucker: 360-236-8266 or ltucker@seattletimes.com