Giving Thanks!
Happy Thanksgiving from Nevada Waterfowl!
We are grateful for our supporters, volunteers, and everyone who helps protect Nevada’s wetlands and wildlife.
Wishing you a safe, warm, and wonderful holiday.
The Nevada Waterfowl Team
History of Swan Hunting in Nevada
Prepared by Nevada Department of Wildlife
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initially authorized a tundra swan hunt in 1962. Utah was the first state to take advantage of this opportunity that same year. Nevada followed in those footsteps and created a tundra swan hunt beginning in 1969.
Initially, 500 permits were issued for the Lahontan Valley excluding Lahontan Reservoir. In 1973, the hunt area was changed to the entirety of Churchill County. The number of permits remained unchanged until 1983, when the number of permits was increased to 650 and the hunt area became Churchill, Lyon and Pershing Counties.
In 1995, an Environmental Assessment was published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that allowed for a limited quota (5) for trumpeter harvest. This change also made mandatory validation of swans a requirement. The check-in process is designed to confirm swan species to ensure quotas are kept.
2006 brought change to the permit system. Because of underselling its allotted swan permits, Nevada became the only U.S. state to allow one individual to purchase a second swan permit within the same season when a surplus exists.
The next change to Nevada’s swan hunt did not come about until 2018. The Department made a temporary switch to over-the-counter or direct sell of swan permits (no draw) to accommodate a system change to the licensing and tag draw system. The over-the-counter permit selling format, combined with a growing demand created an almost frenzy for swan permits. From 2018 through 2021, the race to acquire swan permits became faster and faster. By 2021 all available swan permits were sold within a matter of hours on the day sales opened. Beginning in 2022, the swan application process was reinstated as an online application.
Big changes to the Nevada swan hunt were realized in 2019. Federal frameworks were modified to move Nevada’s trumpeter quota from 5 to 10 trumpeters. Changes were also made to allow swans to be harvested during youth only hunt days and the season length extended to a full 107 days (105-day general season and 2 youth days).
Additional modifications were made in 2020 to allow swan seasons to be split into two segments so that the season could mirror general duck seasons in states with a split duck season. In 2024, after 41 years of Nevada having 650 permits allocated, the Nevada permit allocation increased to 750.
Interesting Facts:
• In the fall of 1962, Utah became the first state where tundra swans could be legally hunted since the enactment of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. Swan hunting within the Pacific Flyway continued as Nevada became a swan hunting state in 1969, the Pacific Flyway portion of Montana in 1970, Alaska in 1988, and Idaho in 2020. Nationwide, swan hunting has expanded with additional seasons for Eastern Population tundra swans (Central Flyway portion of Montana 1983, North Carolina 1984, North Dakota and Virginia 1988, South Dakota 1990, Delaware 2019).
• Swan hunting regulations are dictated largely by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, and Environmental Assessments (1995, 2001 and 2003). All of the overriding laws are written in the federal framework. Any substantive changes to swan hunting regulations would require, at minimum, a new Environmental Assessment and any changes require change to the framework.
• Nevada and Utah are the only Pacific Flyway states with a swan hunt to have trumpeter swan quotas. The quotas are designed to protect trumpeter swans that nest within the intermountain states.
• Since the initial Nevada swan season in 1969, a total of 27,142 swan permits have been sold in Nevada. A total of 6,833 swans have been reportedly harvested in Nevada during that time. Of that total, 20 have been trumpeter swans.
• Season length has varied over the years, but the average Nevada swan season length is 82 days. From 1969 to 2025 there have been a total of 4,684 days of open season for swans.
Swan Harvest
Check-in Requirements
Nevada swan permit holders are required to check in the head and neck within three days of harvest. This must be completed at one of NDOW’s regional offices listed below. Please remember that law enforcement checks in the field do not replace the required swan check-in.
If you have already harvested and checked in your swan, thank you!
If not, please keep this requirement in mind as you head out.
If you have any questions, call NDOW at (855) 542-6369.
Check-In Locations:
Western Region Office
1100 Valley Road
Reno, NV 89512
Eastern Region Office
60 Youth Center Road
Elko, NV 89801
Southern Region Office
3373 Pepper Lane
Las Vegas, NV 89120
Ely Office
1218 N. Alpha Street
Ely, NV 89301
Fallon Office
4082 Reno Highway
Fallon, NV 89406
Winnemucca Office
705 E. 4th Street, Suite A
Winnemucca, NV 89445
Aerial Survey: November 10, 2025
Courtesy of Norm Saake
This survey was made possible by funding from the Nevada Waterfowl Association due to the government shutdown.
Submit Your Photos and Hunt Adventures!
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NWA would love to feature your best moments in future issues of The Flyer! Whether it is a sunrise on the marsh, that epic duck call success, or a story on how the season unfolded—send it our way.
Send your image (high resolution preferred) and/or a brief caption or story today!
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