Good news for Manny and Faye — the beloved mute swan pair in the village of Manlius Swan Pond — might come in the form of a bill that was passed in the New York State Senate on April 22. And this bill comes just in time because Faye recently laid two eggs at the swan pond — with more expected to be laid in the upcoming week. The bill, introduced by New York state senators Tony Avella and Steven Cymbrowitz, will establish a moratorium on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s ruling that mute swans are an invasive species. It was passed by a vote of 60 to 1 in the State Senate and was also passed by the Environmental Conservation Committee. “I’m glad about the bill and I’m glad they will look into the issue further,” Manlius Mayor Paul Whorrall said. “It gives the DEC a chance to look at it and decide if what they’re doing is really necessary.” The bill must still be passed by the State Assembly, and then by Governor Andrew Cuomo. If passed, it will remove mute swans from the invasive species list for two years, requires the DEC to fully document the scientific basis for declaring the species invasive and includes a public education component by the DEC about their ruling. In March, the DEC’s ruling took into effect and a plan was put in place to eliminate the species, totaling about 2,200, from the state by 2025. The DEC did decide that organizations who kept swans in a controlled and cared-for environment, like the village of Manlius, could apply for an invasive species permit to keep their current mute swans. This was bittersweet news for Manny and Faye because it meant they would not be allowed to breed. The village of Manlius made an appeal to the DEC to allowed to pair to hatch cygnets because Faye carries a recessive genetic trait that is passed down to her cygnets that gives some white bills, white feet and blue eyes rather than the usual black feet, black-and-orange bills and brown eyes. Whorrall and village trustee Janice Abdo-Rott had a meeting with representatives from the DEC in early April, but with no luck. This meeting lead the village to look to alternative options, such as removing the pair and bringing them to a state that would allow them to breed, or to allow the pair to hatch eggs and raise the cygnets from a different swan species. Whorrall said since the Village Board learned about the bill, they are not planning on making any decisions and will allow the the cygnets to be hatched as usual. “The Village Board doesn’t want to jump to conclusions and do something that we will regret somewhere down the line,” said Whorrall. “The swans are a big part of the quality of life here and we wouldn’t want to ruin that.” According to Michael Bean, caretaker of the pair and wildlife biologist, Faye will continue to lay eggs over the course of the next week and the incubation period of cygnets is about five weeks. Whorrall said he does not know of any repercussions to the village of Manlius if the bill is not passed into law and the swans hatch their eggs, but he believes the public outcry that was shown after the initial ruling will cause the bill to be passed. Hayleigh Gowans is a reporter for the Eagle Bulletin. She can be reached at [email protected].