Prior to European settlement of Iowa, trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) nested throughout the state. However, wetland drainage and unregulated hunting of trumpeters soon brought their demise. The last wild nesting trumpeter swan in Iowa occurred in 1883 on the Twin Lakes Wildlife Area southwest of Belmond in Hancock County.

Trumpeter swans were first given nationwide protection in 1918 with the International Migratory Bird Treaty.