On Tuesday, a coalition of environmental groups petitioned with the Environmental Protection Agency asking that lead-based sporting ammunition and fishing tackle be banned.
What that could ultimately mean to Evergreen State gun owners, hunters and anglers is not only much higher ammunition prices, but a dramatic loss of revenue for the Department of Fish & Wildlife, because declining ammunition and tackle sales translates to a decline in federal excise tax revenues, which in turn will result in a decline in federal monies apportioned to this and other states through the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson federal wildlife and fisheries restoration programs. That money is administered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Almost immediately, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) threw down the gauntlet.
“There is simply no scientific evidence that the use of traditional ammunition is having an adverse impact on wildlife populations that would require restricting or banning the use of traditional ammunition beyond current limitations, such as the scientifically based restriction on waterfowl hunting,” said NSSF President Steve Sanetti.
The National Rifle Association has an on-line “Q & A” about lead at its NRA Hunters Rights web page.
This is a very real threat. It has touched off furious discussions on at least three popular hunting and gun rights forums, TheHighRoad.org, NorthwestFirearms.com and Hunting-Washington.com.
What is at stake? A ban would outlaw the use of lead in every hunting cartridge and shotshell, period. That means anything from .17-caliber on up, including the .22-caliber rimfires owned by tens of millions of Americans for recreation, competition, hunting and even personal protection.
Hunters have eaten venison taken with lead bullets for hundreds of years. Yet there is not one documented case of lead poisoning from eating deer meat. Doctors are required to report all cases of lead poisoning to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), yet according to CDC public health advisor Kimball Credle, no cases have ever been traced to wild game meat.—NRA Hunters Rights
Granted, bullet makers including Oregon’s Nosler, Inc., Idaho’s Speer and Nebraska’s Hornady Manufacturing have all developed so-called “green” bullets, and the Utah-based Barnes Bullets, which produces projectiles made from copper, has been at the front end of the curve for years. Non-toxic shot became required for waterfowl hunters a generation ago, and in recent years, many states have adopted regulations banning the use of lead shot for upland birds and small game.
This anti-lead coalition consists of the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), the Association of Avian Veterinarians and an ostensibly “grassroots hunters’ group” calling itself “Project Gutpile. A visit to the Project Gutpile blog shows no entries since 2008.
A visit to the ABC website reveals that in 476 AD, the Roman Empire collapsed and that a “major contributing factor” was the use of lead in water pipes, cosmetics, pottery and food. That might come as a surprise to all of those foolish historians who thought barbarian invasions and the rise of Christianity had something to do with Rome’s fall. Maybe when the Visigoths sacked the place in 410 AD, all they found were sick Centurions.
Down in Arizona, the PEER group has, as its southwest region director, a Democrat state representative, Daniel Patterson. He reportedly recently criticized the Arizona Game and Fish Department for being “hostile” to “non-game” wildlife. In a story published by the Arizona Republic, PEER reportedly doesn’t even like the agency’s name. Patterson wanted to change the name of the agency earlier this year to Arizona Wildlife Conservation Service.
Hunting and fishing licenses generate almost all of the department's revenue. The department receives no money from the general fund, an arrangement similar to that in most other states.
Ask Evergreen State hunters how well the change in agency focus has worked for them since the Washington Department of Game became the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
In what must qualify as one of the dumber observations attributed to a lawmaker Rep. Patterson was quoted by the newspaper that “I think the agency (Arizona Game & Fish) forgets its role. Everything that isn’t hunting and fishing is just ‘non-game,’ stuff they can’t sell licenses for.” Patterson indicated to this column (see below) that "the paper got it wrong and tried to play up a conflict."
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UPDATE: Almost as a testament to the speed of the Internet, within minutes of this column’s posting, Rep. Patterson called this reporter from Tucson to “clear the record.”
Describing himself as a devoted hunter and Second Amendment advocate, Patterson said he had no involvement in PEER’s decision to join in the petition. He is the state’s southwest area director of the group, and “that decision came out of our office in Washington (D.C.).” He seemed a bit surprised by the effort.
Patterson said there is a voluntary program for hunters to use non-toxic ammunition in parts of Arizona – such as the Kaibab Plateau – where California condors might be present. He hunts wild turkeys up there, with steel shot, he said.
“I’m not sure what the motivation is for pushing this (ban petition) forward,” he stated. “There could be some issues with lead toxicity in gut piles…but generally my view would be that you want to deal with that in a place-by-place situation.”
He believes wildlife management decisions should be based on scientific research “and regional details.”
Patterson insisted that the attempt to change the name of the Game and Fish Department was to “broaden the appeal” of what the agency does to a wider audience.
“Maybe people don’t understand what our mission is, which is all wildlife,” he stressed.
This column suggested that Rep. Patterson explore what has occurred in the Evergreen State since the transition within the Game Department to become the Wildlife Department, and how many hunters now feel alienated. That change, as many Washington sportsmen will recall, was largely for the same reasons; to "broaden the appeal" of wildlife management to a broader audience.
Having been drawn for a whitetail tag during this fall’s hunting season, Patterson said fishing and hunting is important, and he would like to see more youngsters get involved.
Patterson also now understands the broader implications of changing the name, and perhaps the public perception of the mission, of the Game and Fish Department. He is not favorable to attempts to merge the agency with another state natural resources agency, acknowledging that there would be attempts to raid the Game and Fish dedicated fund budget.
And on a personal note: Patterson seems like a stand-up guy whose message may have been misinterpreted. This column wished him good luck on his whitetail deer hunt.
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The newspaper noted correctly that hunting and fishing license sales generate “almost all of the department’s revenue.” This may come as a shock to some people, but an agency that does not pay attention to its primary constituents is derelict. Not addressing the interests of the people who “pay the freight” is a good way to discourage them and end up with budget deficits. This results in declining revenue, which bureaucrats typically think can be boosted by raising license and tag fees, which results in further revenue declines as hunters and anglers simply go somewhere else. Montana and Idaho are loaded with non-resident Washington hunters in the fall, and they contribute millions of dollars to those states’ economy.
Helping to demonstrate the validity of Sanetti’s statement are recent statistics from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) showing from 1981 to 2006 the number of breeding pairs of bald eagles in the United States increased 724 percent. And much like the bald eagle, raptor populations throughout the United States are soaring.Also fueling concerns over the CBD petition is the likely ramification a ban on traditional ammunition would have on wildlife conservation. The federal excise tax that manufacturers pay on the sale of the ammunition (11 percent) is a primary source of wildlife conservation funding and the financial backbone of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. The bald eagle’s recovery, considered to be a truly great conservation success story, was made possible and funded by hunters using traditional ammunition – the very ammunition organizations like the CBD are now demonizing.—NSSF statement
This column does not entertain conspiracy theories, but it would be negligent to ignore the fact that many people who dislike guns also dislike hunting, and many advocates of gun control have suggested that instead of attacking firearms, the focus should be on eliminating ammunition. The anti-hunting Humane Society of the United States, notes the NRA on its Hunter’s Rights page, “has called for a total ban on lead ammunition, and they are the most radical anti-hunting group in the country. A ban on lead ammunition would force hunters to buy alternatives (such as copper) which tend to be much harder to find, and ultimately cause some people to actually drop out of hunting.”
The NRA strongly opposed a 2009 measure to authorize Washington’s Fish & Wildlife Commission to ban the use of lead shot for hunting anywhere in the state it deemed necessary.
This campaign against lead-component ammunition highlights a survey in North Dakota two years ago that found some slight elevation in lead levels in blood samples taken from more than 730 volunteers. However, officials said there was “nothing conclusive” about the preliminary results of that study, according to the Bismarck Tribune at the time.
Lead levels from those in the study ranged from none to 9.82 micrograms per deciliter.Levels of 25 micrograms per deciliter in adults and 10 in children are considered elevated.—Bismarck Tribune
NSSF vice president and general counsel Larry Keane told this column on Tuesday that calling for a ban has no scientifically sound basis.
“Needlessly restricting or banning traditional ammunition absent sound science will hurt wildlife conservation efforts as fewer hunters take to the field,” Keane said in a prepared statement. “Hunters and their ammunition have done more for wildlife than the CBD ever will. And the CBD’s scientifically baseless petition and endless lawsuits against state and federal wildlife managers certainly do not serve the wildlife that the organization claims to protect.”
For more info: National Shooting Sports Foundation. Assault on Weapons: The Campaign to Eliminate Your Guns
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Comments
I am an Arizona big game hunter and I am not a part of this anti-lead effort.
Too bad Mr. Workman never contacted me to discuss these issues before shooting from the hip.
The antis are as rats nibbling at the toes of an infant, or in this case, our rights.
The only way we're going to win this fight is to remain vigilant, and challenge their every move.
Thanks, Dave, for taking my call and the update here.
Thanks, Dave, for taking my call and the update here.
Aw, shucks, Mr. Patterson.
You didn't have to tell me twice.
It was a good conversation. The readers will benefit.
You say your column doesn't entertain conspiracy theories and then go on to lay out your conspiracy theory, that anyone against using lead is probably anti-hunting. That's a conspiracy theory and it's BS. You want science? Science says lead is a neurotoxin. Do you *want* to add neurotoxins to your meat? Do you want to indiscriminately spread it around the environment to get into the food chain? When folks say they don't have any problem with hunting, they just want to stop spreading neurotoxins around the environment and getting into our food. Why isn't your response, "that seems accommodating and reasonable and something that we could work out"? Why do you instead jump to all kinds of conspiracy theories and paint folks as anti-hunters trying to decimate the sport? Making it us versus them. It's not the hunting that's giving hunting a bad name, it's hunter's overreactions, paranoia, and vilifying everyone who suggests even modest, reasonable accommodations.
An anti-lead hunt
-er
This effort has nothing to do with the dangers of Lead in any way. But has everything to do with Limiting of, or eventually eliminating ammunition altogether. In effect banning guns, as without ammo they are just real handy clubs.
This comment is right and straight to the point! Does any body ever stop to think that lead comes from the earth and not man made? I guess that don't matter when they are using it as an excuse to ban ammo. These liberals need to be spayed and nuetered so that they don't reproduce the narrow minded gene pool. Look at the big picture assholes and realize that if you actually do manage to get us into a corner it will not be good for your kind!
Your right Kelly, the effort to ban lead in ammo has nothing in any way to do with trying to ban lead in ammo. It's probably really a plan by the aliens living among us to suck out our brains as we sleep. I see they've already gotten to you.
BTW Kelly, thanks for helping me make my point about hunters.
Wow, what a fine kettle of misinformation and fear-mongering. This initiative will not reduce hunting - the non-lead hunting requirements that went into place in major portions of California in 2008 did not reduce hunting in CA. Nor will it reduce excise tax revenues, which would continue to be collected on sales of non-lead ammunition. It will get an insanely toxic substance out of the food chain while allowing people to continue to enjoy hunting and fishing. That's why a hunting group is on the petition. Go to EndToxicLead.org look at the videos and photos of lead poisoned bald eagles, swans, condors, loons, etc. to see what this intiative is really about. View the x-rays of deer shot with lead ammo and ask yourself if you want to eat meat contaminated with a snowstorm of toxic lead fragments. Don't rely on the misinformation of the Examiner and the paranoiacs at the NRA, go to the biologicaldiversity dot org web site and read the petition for yourself.
So, let me get this straight. The EPA wants us to remove a naturally occurring element from nature? Sounds to me like they're the ones who've been chewing on their crib rails a bit too much.
isn't lead a natural product?
Hey Jeff,
Would you tell all us 'paranoics' (sic) just how you plan to extract ALL of the lead which is naturally occurring in Nature?
While you're at it, allow me to advise you that those of us who are hobby Gold Prospectors quite often find Naturally Occurring Mercury in the bottom of our gold pans.
Do you have any plans to rip all the mercury out of good ole Momma Earth?
Don't forget, there' s Naturally Occurring Zinc, Phosphates, Alkalies, Arsenic, and about a billion other things found to be 'toxic' to the human system.
So......when do you plan on starting the Petition Drive?
Cheers.
I know how to remediate this problem - year round open season for all those who sustenance hunt with traditional stone tipped tools - obsidian and flint knapped arrowheads, atlatl dart points and spear points. Don't forget those hand axes and clubs useful for bashing in skulls. Welcome back to the Stone Age! And for those who never left, please teach us to be successful.
Or is this an anti-hunting exercise in any guise?
Didn't Daniel Patterson used to work for the Center for Biological Diversity?
"would ban the use of the millions of rounds of lead ammunition currently in private hands." From pressconnects.com.
The real purpose. And if you can't use it, why not turn it in to be destroyed?
Why not, indeed.
I'm sorry for all the two or three dozen animals that get lead poisoning. I've had it myself, thanks to backward ventilation at an indoor range. It makes you lethargic and confused. I don't think animals are going to lose their jobs or have car accidents or anything life-threatening. Back off.
You guys are brilliant. Lead is a naturally occurring "product", so let's mine it, concentrate it, and insert it into our meat! While were at it, since arsenic, hemlock, mercury and rattlesnake venom are all naturally occurring "products", lets purify and add them to the food chain too. And, anyone who says this might not be the brightest idea... is an anti-hunter! Yeah, that's it!
I think you've all already ingested a little too much lead.
Myself, I eat almost exclusively game meat, and I prefer it not be tainted with lead, thank you.
An anti-lead hunter
I have an idea, lets ban firearms also because if we don't clean them good and they rust and we cut ourselves on them we may get blood poisening. After all ridding "we the people" of our liberty teeth is what this is all about anyhow right? I do allright hunting every season and have yet to get lead poisening, how about you? Have you ever actually gotten it from eating lead killed game? You worry about lead bullets while you pig out on feed lot raised beef which is force fed corn and antibiotics while cattle is designed to eat only grass. Do you bitch about the Flouride in your water? It's the first ingredient in rat poisen. Wildthang...it's quiet time son, go sit in the corner until you do some further studying.
Oh, also, are you "that guy" that needs the powers that be to watch over your well bieng because they know whats better for you and your family than you do?
So wildthang, just what are the routes of ingestion of lead into the body and what are the exact percentages and numbers of affected beings both animal and human as we truly would like to know the risk.
Since we do not see ground of vaporized lead in the air from hunting in concentrations what is the issue again?
Are we putting the bullets into a solvent that dissolve's the lead and allows skin transfer?
The risk that out on a hunt in a non concentrated hunting area that an animal picks up a #5 pellet of lead from among all the detritus and debris on the ground?
The number of hunters that shoot a white tail deer or similar animal via a neck shot versus and internal organ shot thereby leaving no lead fragments to be consumed from the gut pile?
The number of scavengers, vultures, coyotes die from this extreme danger each and every year.
What is the PH factors of the water and land in most places that in of itself and natural chemistry neutralizes lead?
Oh so many que
Yet all wildthang does is preach on the generalized fear of "lead is toxic" without accounting for all the variables and how it occurs in nature and natures counter balances.
Such fear mongering extremism.
Bet the next thing is that brass, copper, and the other non toxic materials will be found to be toxic. Just like the use of saccharine sweetener was found to be toxic in lab rats. That is of course provided they ingested 3,000 times the amount they could ever do so in a normal lifetime.
Jarhead, now you're talking about the science of lead toxicity and the implications of human and wildlife ingestion. Good for you. This is the discussion that needs to be had... rationally, scientifically, looking at real consequences, trade-offs, alternatives, compromises. All I'm asking for, is to stop the conspiracy theories, the vilification, and the "my way or the highway" posturing. Let's work with the folks that are willing to work with hunters on this and come to a well-reasoned and scientifically supported solution.
An anti-lead hunter
Ok wildthang , you seem real passionate about a single lead bullet taking down a game animal.
So I'd like to ask , have you removed the lead acid battery from your car / truck and replaced it with a hand crank ?
Have any cordless tools , phones , laptop computer or anything else that runs on a Ni Cad ,Ni Mh , or a Lithium battery ?
We are surounded with toxins , many way more dangerous than an inert chunk of lead passing thru an animal and burying it self back into the ground.
If you also have given up using the extremley toxic bateries I mentioned You have my support .
If not then you are on the edge of just being a goof ball that picks and chooses what they want to fight today .
Yes lead can be toxic , we all agree on that. But have you read the haz - mat sheets on the bateries I mentioned ?
Like I said , if you have forgone all those as well as lead ammo then I stand in respect of your stance.
Jarhead, now you're talking about the science of lead toxicity and the implications of human and wildlife ingestion. Good for you. This is the discussion that needs to be had... rationally, scientifically, looking at real consequences, trade-offs, alternatives, compromises. All I'm asking for, is to stop the conspiracy theories, the vilification, and the "my way or the highway" posturing. Let's work with the folks that are willing to work with hunters on this and come to a well-reasoned and scientifically supported solution.
An anti-lead hunter
Marlin, I don't eat batteries. Do you? And, is your argument that since there are other toxic things around us, don't worry about 'em? Just continue to use and eat things unquestioningly? How'd that work out with mercury... that was used as medicine in the 1800s? You vehemently question the motives of anyone who raises the issue... but refuse to question how smart it is to be adding a neurotoxin to the food chain and what effects the accumulation of this toxin in our wildlife and our bodies might have? Who's being a goofball?
An anti-lead hunter
Oh no, the deer might be harmed by the lead I'm about to shoot it with!
Just because something is naturally occurring doesn't mean it's free of harm. Tobacco, arsenic, mold, asbestos, uranium, and lead. I would add carbon in the atmosphere, but I suspect that would likely engage those who brew or bag their own.
The harm from lead shot to rivers, estuaries, etc. and the dwellers of said places was pretty well established.
Thus far, I'm not convinced of an environmental harm from lead bullets; however, there's no lead level which is safe for humans as well as a great many other species.
When discussing potential harms from lead, the discussion centers around lead particulates and not gunshot wounds.
You mean the Anti's lied....Well,imagine that...DUH !
I WILL NOT BELIEVE ANY EXTREMIST VIEWS ON THE NUMBER OF ANIMALS,AND BIRDS KILLED FROM INGESTING LEAD PELLETS,AND BULLETS.This is a ploy to make all existing ammo illegal. What a big win for the Obamanites,Ha, Fred down the road bought 2000 rounds for his ASSault rifle,and now he has to turn it in to the liberals in charge,so they can destroy it. What a win!!! I don't trust any of the Obama picks (our 37 presidents)with Obama as their poster boy.
Remind me again how many people have gotten lead poisoning from eating their deer sausage? Oh thats right , NO ONE HAS.
This is one big ploy to make ammo super expensive and get people to give up hunting and shooting.
Read the research about lead from www.peregrinefund.org. They also have a YouTube video called 'Toxic Harvest'. They are a PRO HUNTING organization. They have proceedings of a conference they held on the effects of lead ammunition and wildlife. Realizing that lead in the offal of field dressed game is the problem. They use science based arguments to show how lead is harming our scavengers. I'm a NRA life member, believer in the 2nd Amendment, hunter safety instructor, falconer and field sports enthusiast of All field sports, falconry, gunning, archery, coursing, terrier work, fishing, trapping. Take a look at the safety literature packaged with your firearms. And especially read the cautions regarding handling and shooting lead ammunition packed with it. Then make your decision regarding lead ammo.
Wildthang , no I don't eat batteries , or drink the mercury from the "green" flouresent light bulbs either. My point was that the main lead concern ( waterfowl and lead shot ) was adressed , which I stood up for . I feel that there are a lot more hazerdous things getting into the food chain than hunters afield with lead bullets.
We all get to make our own personal choices , the great thing about our country . You are welcome to choose NOT to use any lead in your ammo and others are welcome TO choose to use a lead based bullet and be responsible for making surethe food they eat is as lead free as possible.
Ya,if hit a shoulder and the bullet shatters folks get the choice to eat or toss that muscle sometimes ya can't eat up to the bullet hole.:)
Exrays can be countered with pics of bullets that did not expand and perform like a lead bullet would ;)
I will not make any post telling you that your choice to use lead free ammo is wrong , and would like the same courtesy back .
>>That might come as a surprise to all of those foolish historians who thought barbarian invasions and the rise of Christianity had something to do with Rome’s fall. Maybe when the Visigoths sacked the place in 410 AD, all they found were sick Centurions.<< why you thought this statement would help us i do not know. name calling and making wild assumptions about illogical extremes? please, we're better than this.
Dave,
As usual, a well researched and written piece. Something we all have come to expect of you.
I’ve been doing a lot of research on the EPA, and a number of other agencies, and I have not been able to find under what authority the EPA derives it’s powers UNDER THE CONSTITUTION. Granted, there are numerous statutes on the books that say the EPA has authority over this or that. But those statutes themselves are wide open to a Constitutional challenge.
In my view, the EPA truly overstepped it’s authority in the gulf spill.
As we all know, the only power the feral guburmunt has is what is expressly granted it by the Constitution. All federal regulations, which go against the Constitution, are open to challenge.
This lead ban could easily be challenged.
Marlin, you want to point out the post where I said the choice to use lead in ammo is wrong. [You don't need to look, it doesn't exist].
What my argument has been from the outset is... that folks should not propagate conspiracy theories that anyone who is concerned about the use of lead in ammo because of the potential to disseminate toxicity - is anti-hunting or trying to take away our guns, as this article does. Instead of circling the wagons, attacking people's character or motives, calling them names (or invoking the constitution), we should look at this issue rationally, calmly, scientifically - and come to reasoned, mutually acceptable solutions. Is that courteous enough for you?
And, Chris... the constitution doesn't specifically grant you the right to take a dump. I think you're screwed, dude.
(Sorry, I couldn't resist).
Check out Photobucket[dot]com and search for user "GovtTransparency". If it doesn't find the image, scroll down a little and click on the link to that user.
TJ:
The picture is of Daniel Patterson (then "Desert Ecologist" for the Center of Biological Diversity) protesting wildlife professionals as they try to protect children on the playground and hikers from a dangerously habituated mountain lion. It's too bad this group doesn't put as much effort into scientific honesty as it does figuring out who to sue next. Funny, Patterson's websites never mention how closely tied he still is to this radical group. If his constituents only knew the real Daniel Patterson he would never be reelected and would have to return to protesting sensible wildlife management with a bullhorn.
Wildthang,
I’m going to keep this simple so even you can understand.
The ONLY power the federal government has is the power EXPRESSLY granted it by the Constitution. No more, no less.
So, the Constitution DOES NOT grant the federal government power to take a dump. It is not in the Constitution. Also, since it is NOT FORBIDDEN for the States or the people, both states and the people are guaranteed, under the Constitution, the right to take a dump.
Sorry dude, you just dumped all over yourself. (I just couldn’t resist)
If you are going to make statements about the Constitution, or anything else, you would be better served to know the facts of which you are commenting.
Oh, snap! You got me, Chris. I didn't realize you were a constitutional scholar. I'm sure you're right then that the Environmental Protection Agency will have overstepped it's authority to... protect the environment, and everything that relies on the environment (us)for their well being. I'm sure you've got a solid constitutionality case against citizens trying to protect themselves from the careless introduction of neurotoxins into their environment. You being as clever as you are.
Hey, self-proclaimed 'Govt Transparency' -- You are off base and fail to mention critical details, likely due to ignorance.
What's your real name? You have no credibility.
Very weak and not very 'transparent' to hide behind an alias and attack me as a hunter with a proven history of effective wildlife conservation.
Daniel Patterson
Tucson
Arizona big game hunter
twitter.com/RepPatterson
This will doom the Obama Administration and the Democratic Party. They will lose both houses of Congress and Obama will be soundly defeated in 12. It will be 30 years before they see power again. They are really over stepping their authority.
These people are so worried about lead in the environment from hunters? What about the thousands upon thousands of tons of lead bullets in the ground at Civil War battle sites? That lead has been there for 150 years, and I see NO ONE voicing "concerns" about any environmental damage it has caused. In fact, there have been NO studies done on it or even one word of concern from the so-called environmental groups about it. The fact is, these protests originate form the whacko vengen animal rights groups and are just another ploy to try and eliminate hunting and sport fishing of any kind. If they were really concerned about the effect of lead on the environment, they would already be raising Cain about the Civil War battle sites and the enormous amounts of lead they contain from spent bullets. This shows what frauds these anti lead campaigns are.
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