Waterfowl or Waterfoul?

 
     A pair of swans occupy a marsh near my home. My affection for them grew when their babies hatched during the spring. (Above, an adult sits on a nest containing newborns.)
     When I mentioned these swans to my sister-in-law, a bird expert, she wasn't happy. She told me these birds are aggressive toward native waterfowl. Ducks and other such birds have been forced away from this marsh. In short, these Mute swans are damaging the environment.
     Mute swans were introduced to the United States during late 1800's. The owners of mansions along the Hudson River brought them in as lawn decorations.
     Until recently, the environmental threat from these swans was acute in Chesapeake Bay, far away from my state. Chesapeake Journal reported that 'Mute swans rip the (aquatic) grasses out by the roots, day in and day out, in increasing numbers...  These grasses are critical to support other life in the Bay and its tributaries.'
     How sad that something beautiful is harmful.
     What's to be done?
     Maryland began managing these birds, a euphemism for shooting them. Problem solved. They spared a few of the birds and prevented further degradation of the habitat.
     From a rational standpoint, it's easy to agree with such a policy. But how would I react if the swan in that photo was targeted by a shooter?
     Jonathan McKnight is a natural resource official in Maryland. He told the Journal: "But on some level, you have to wonder about human beings – the most invasive species of all – naming other species as invasive, and managing them. I’d feel better about it if we do a better job of managing ourselves."
     At first I reacted with agreement to his statement. But upon reflection,  I wondered if invasiveness--foreign species muscling out local species--is consistent to the ways of nature.
     When God created the world, did he envision it changing through evolution? Are invasive events a part of evolution? And when God created mankind, did he anticipate us impacting--and being invasive--to the geography of the world? One could argue that our invasiveness isn't really invasive, rather, it's a natural condition.
     Is cutting down trees to create a cornfield an invasive behavior? No, because if the field goes fallow, the forest will grow back. Does introducing European Mute swans to the United States represent invasiveness? Yes, if the result forever alters the makeup of nature.
    Even though God allows us to shape our environment, and do invasive things, does it mean we should do as we please to our environment?  
    By introducing a species of animal to an unfamiliar environment, we might be messing around with God's blueprint. If so, is taking measures to restore the blueprint justifiable?