MANLIUS — On Dec. 30, 2025, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) issued the Village of Manlius a renewed license that allows its four mute swans to remain at the Swan Pond through the end of 2025 but not to reproduce. After the year is up, the agency wants the village to transition from maintaining the invasive species to possessing native trumpeter or tundra swans. The village’s previous license was issued in February 2024 and expired at the end of 2024. It allowed Manlius to keep its mute swans for education/exhibition but prohibited them from reproducing. The agency gave the village until Dec. 31, 2024, to decide between sterilizing all four swans or keeping only two same-sex swans to prevent propagation. Intent on maintaining its longstanding, successful mute swan breeding program, the village applied on Oct. 31, 2024, to renew its 2024 license for 2025 with key modifications; the main change would allow the village to maintain one pair of breeding swans on an ongoing basis. During the Dec. 10 Village of Manlius Board of Trustees meeting, Village Attorney Brad Hunt reported that the village had not heard from the DEC regarding its ruling on the 2025 permit application. He also said the DEC had inexplicably just sent the village what appeared to be a standard license renewal application form. Hunt reached out to the DEC to try to get information on the status of the license. However, there was no substantive communication with the DEC between the December meeting and issuance of the license renewal. The renewed license was accompanied by a DEC letter from Bureau of Wildlife Chief James Farquhar to Mayor Paul Whorrall. Dated Dec. 30, the letter states that the DEC has renewed the license to collect and possess the existing four immature mute swans, provided the village ensures no mute swan propagation occurs by reducing its possession to same-sex individuals or sterilizing the current swans. Farquhar explained that the renewed license will expire on Dec. 31, 2025, allowing the DEC time to help the village transition to possessing native trumpeter or tundra swans, which the village could propagate if desired. “These elegant birds are long-lived and form permanent pair bonds,” the letter states. “Transitioning possession to either trumpeter or tundra swans will enable continuation of the village’s storied tradition of swan breeding while freeing the village from the annual responsibility to sterilize or destroy mute swan offspring. Trumpeter or tundra swans, species that were historically prevalent in the region, offer an excellent opportunity for the educational and conservation programs led by the village. Their presence in Manlius will serve as a testament to the village’s dedication to wildlife preservation and responsible environmental stewardship.” According to the letter, the DEC looks forward to working closely with the village to ensure a smooth transition and the successful integration of native swans into the Manlius community. A notable difference between the village’s 2024 and 2025 licenses is a modification to Condition 12: “Live Animal – Mute Swans – Propagation Prohibited.” In addition to stating that the licensee shall prevent any mute swans on the property from reproducing by either keeping only one gender or surgically sterilizing all the birds, the condition now addresses the “unlikely event” that the swans produce eggs, stating that the eggs must be oiled, punctured, destroyed, or otherwise rendered unable to hatch. After reviewing the letter and renewed license, Hunt provided his interpretation of the DEC’s language, which he described as “not completely clear.” “I think the bottom line is that we are allowed to keep the current four swans for one more year, but we are supposed to reach an agreement with DEC during the year for a new plan after that,” he said. “The letter says DEC has renewed our license to possess ‘the existing four immature mute swans.’ But the license also has a condition that we are required to prevent reproduction by keeping only one gender or by sterilizing the birds. DEC also added a new clause saying that if a swan lays eggs, we have to prevent the eggs from hatching. I think DEC believes reproduction this year is unlikely because the swans are still young. So, they are letting us keep them this year . . .” Whorrall responded to the DEC’s ruling during the Jan. 14 village board meeting. “I think the board — from what I gather [from] our earlier conversation — [is] just going to wait and make our decision as we go along,” he said. “We are going to see how things go. We’ve got a year to think about it. We are not going to sway from our decision, and we’ve got our attorney following up for us. So, I think, as a board, that’s the direction we are going to go.” Whorrall highlighted the importance of mute swans to the identity of the historic Village of Manlius community. “The swans were here 65 years before the DEC,” he said. “They should grandfather us [in] or do whatever they can to work with us because it’s part of our community. For them to take our swans away would be taking the heart out of our community. I just think we are going to stay on course here; we are not going to stop.” Village board meetings are held at 6 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month in the Manlius Village Centre Board Room at 1 Arkie Albanese Ave., Manlius. For more information on the Village of Manlius, visit manliusvillage.org.