 In 1937 concerned over wetland preservation in the wake of the Dust Bowl, the U.S. Congress established the Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge just to the south of Sumner.Roads, buildings and man-made wetlands were soon created by the Civilian Conservation Corps and by 1941 eight hundred geese wintered in the area.Located on a migratory flyway, Swan Lake and the Sumner area began to attract ever larger numbers of geese in the mid and late 20th century, reaching 100,000 or more by the 1980s and 1990s.