HLSIO Efforts to Restore the Merganser Relocation Program
Unfortunately, HLSIO has not been permitted to relocate merganser hens and their ducklings during either 2025 or 2026. Restrictions and concerns related to avian influenza (avian flu) have prevented the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) from authorizing the relocation program during these years.
HLSIO recognizes the importance of protecting wildlife and understands the need for appropriate safeguards when avian disease is present. At the same time, the loss of the relocation program has had a significant impact on our ability to manage the swimmer’s itch problem at Higgins Lake.
For many years, HLSIO’s program has demonstrated that relocating merganser hens and their young to appropriate habitat can interrupt the parasite’s life cycle and substantially reduce swimmer’s itch at Higgins Lake. The program provides a way to address the source of the problem while allowing the ducks to remain in suitable natural habitat.
HLSIO is making every effort to work cooperatively with the USFWS and other agencies to explain the history and success of our program, provide the scientific information supporting it, and demonstrate why the relocation program is important to Higgins Lake and the surrounding community.
New permit applications are being pursued, and HLSIO is actively communicating with USFWS officials to seek reconsideration and reinstatement of the program. Our goal is to work with the agencies to develop a responsible approach that addresses their concerns while allowing HLSIO to resume a program that has provided significant relief from swimmer’s itch in the past.
HLSIO remains committed to finding a scientifically sound, environmentally responsible solution that protects both wildlife and the people who live on and enjoy Higgins Lake.