Lead Ban Chronicles – A Bombshell from the National Park Service
Hoo boy! Did anyone see this coming?
Well, actually, it’s not new… there were rumors about this quite some time ago, but apparently no one paid attention.
On March 10, the National Park Service officially announced the kickoff of a program to eliminate the use of lead ammunition and fishing tackle on all National Park properties where hunting or fishing are permitted.
National Park Service Gets the Lead Out!
WASHINGTON – National Park Service visitors and wildlife have something to cheer about today with the agency’s stepped-up efforts to reduce lead in national park environments.
“Our goal is to eliminate the use of lead ammunition and lead fishing tackle in parks by the end of 2010,” said Acting National Park Service Director Dan Wenk. “We want to take a leadership role in removing lead from the environment.”
The new lead reduction efforts also include changes in NPS activities, such as culling operations or the dispatching of wounded or sick animals. Rangers and resource managers will use non-lead ammunition to prevent environmental contamination as well as lead poisoning of scavenger species who may eventually feed upon the carcass. Non-toxic substitutes for lead made in the United States are now widely available including tungsten, copper, and steel.
The NPS will also develop educational materials to increase awareness about the consequences of lead exposure and the benefits of using lead-free ammunition and fishing tackle.
Lead is an environmental contaminant affecting many areas of the world, including our national parks. Lead is banned in gasoline, children’s toys, and paint because of its effects on human health. In the United States, there is an accelerating trend to expand efforts to reduce lead contamination associated with firearms and hunting. California and Arizona have recently implemented mandatory and voluntary bans, respectively, on lead ammunition to facilitate California condor recovery. And Yellowstone National Park has had restrictions on lead fishing tackle for years to protect native species and their habitats.
Resource managers recognize that hunting and fishing play an important historical role in the complicated and intensive management of wildlife populations. Because of this history, these activities continue in some parks and, in some cases, even enhance the park’s primary purpose to preserve natural environments and native species. The new restrictions on lead will ensure environmentally safe practices are implemented to protect park visitors and lands.
Wenk adds, “The reduction and eventual removal of lead on park service lands will benefit humans, wildlife, and ecosystems inside and outside park boundaries and continue our legacy of resource stewardship.”
Note that the program includes the use of lead ammunition in culling and management work by NPS employees, as well as for sporting purposes. A big surprise here is the inclusion of lead fishing tackle, which means lead weights, jigs, lures, and even lead-based fly line.
You can read this and other NPS news release here.
This certainly adds a new dimension to the ongoing commentary on my “Lead Ban Manifesto” post.
Well, this certainly reinforces the point that this train has left the station, and we need to focus on steering the train down the right track, rather than bemoaning the fact that the train left the station in the first place.
And I’ll say this: the 2010 track seems really fast.
Got any info on how much national parkland is open for public hunting? How many hunters will this affect? How many of them hunt with rimfire?
But here’s the more serious question: If the NPS is doing this, how far behind can the forest service be? I know there’s lots of hunting in national forests. And of course, once CA F&G sees the feds doing this, they’ll feel justified enacting a statewide ban here. Oh boy. Here we go.
March 10th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Wow, I can’t say I’m surprised, but it seemed to happen a little faster than I expected. The part that really surprises me, is the inclusion of fishing tackle. That’s a new one.
It does sound, like NorCal said, that we just need to help steer the train in the proper direction, rather than get all up in arms about it leaving.
March 11th, 2009 at 4:44 am
Arthur, I think the fact that sinkers are included is FREAKIN’ FANTASTIC. Only 6 percent of American adults hunt; 13 percent FISH. They have more clout than we do. I’m thrilled about that part. But we absolutely must work with the anglers to avoid a situation where the NPS relents on sinkers, but charges full speed ahead on ammo.
March 11th, 2009 at 8:16 am
The lead fishing tackle issue has been around as long as the lead ammo deal, if not longer. It doesn’t get a lot of play here on the Hog Blog, because I simply can’t keep up with it all… and since fishing isn’t a big thing for me these days, I don’t follow the issues.
Not sure how this is all gonna play out. It’s possible that the Dept of the Interior and other federal departments (BLM, National Forest Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Dept of Defense, etc.) will follow suit on lands they manage. The National Parks, at least from a hunting perspective, are pretty lightly hunted. A lead ban won’t seem like much of an incursion to the majority of sportsmen.
But this may simply be a test run… If the BLM or Forest Service see this go over without a fight, they may well decide to get on board. Then it’s gonna get rough.
March 11th, 2009 at 8:46 am
Agreed. Which is all the more reason we need to hop on now. If we don’t fight now, they’ll take it as acquiescence. I would like to press the NPS for documentation of the problems in the parks associated with lead.
March 11th, 2009 at 8:58 am
[...] Nevermind, found it. Lead Ban Chronicles – A Bombshell from the National Park Service – The Hog Blog – The Hog Hunting Bl… [...]
March 16th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
[...] reported a while back on the initial (and abortive) movement by the National Park Service to phase out lead ammo and [...]
August 11th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Hey lets think a minute. I have a 13 year old kid, who eats the game we shoot. The non lead heavyshot shotgun loads are superior to lead bullets, and are coming down in price. The non lead California Legal bullets work just fine. I’m already thinking that I don’t want to take that delicious Arizona Elk with lead, I mean, it’s gonna take a few thousand bucks to get permits permission and vacation, so what if the bullet costs 2 dollars instead of one?
February 3rd, 2010 at 7:55 am