U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
5275 Leesburg Pike
MS: PRB (JAO/3W)
Falls Church, VA
22041-3803
Attn: FWS–HQ–NWRS–2023–0038
Date: August 22, 2023
Dear U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Officials,
We the undersigned write to strongly support the National Wildlife Refuge System: 2023-2024 Station-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations (“Regulations”), and offer some changes to the Regulations for consideration. In order to be compatible with refuge purpose(s) and the refuge system mission, we support the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (“USFWS”) legally required compatibility determination and litigation-compelled phase out of lead ammunition by 2026 in order for the expanded hunting and fishing to be compatible. We urge the National Wildlife Refuge System (“System”) to accelerate this transition by phasing out lead ammunition over an 18-month period so as to more expeditiously meet the required compatibility.
As currently written, the USFWS is proposing to phase-out lead fishing tackle on Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, and lead ammunition and fishing tackle on Blackwater, Eastern Neck, Erie, Great Thicket, Patuxent Research, Rachel Cason, and Wallops Island National Wildlife Refuges.
The new rule proposed states:
“The best available science, analyzed as part of this proposed rulemaking, indicates that lead ammunition and tackle have negative impacts on both wildlife and human health. Based on the best available science and sound professional judgment, where appropriate, the Service may propose to require the use of non-lead ammunition and tackle on Service lands and waters, as we have done in certain cases already.1National Wildlife Refuge System: 2023-2024 Station-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations, Document ID FWS-HQ-NWRS-2023- 0038-0001. https://www.regulations.gov/document/FWS-HQ-NWRS-2023-0038-0001”
We appreciate this direct statement and also appreciate that Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, which is proposed to expand acres accessible to hunting and fishing, already requires non-lead ammunition for migratory bird and upland game hunting.2https://www.fws.gov/media/minnesota-valley-hunting-and-fishing-brochure-2022-2023 Additionally, the expanded hunting and/or angling access in Everglades Headwaters and Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuges will not include any new uses of lead ammunition. We are grateful to see this upheld.3https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2023-06/service-promotes-public-access-hunting-and-fishing
Past Lead Phase-Out Rule
The USFWS itself is beginning to take lead ammunition and fishing tackle regulations more seriously. In an announcement on June 8, 2022 regarding expanded access to fishing and hunting on 19 National Wildlife Refuges, the Service stated it
“…is fully committed to continuing to provide important access for hunting and fishing opportunities on National Wildlife Refuges. The best available science, analyzed as part of this proposed rulemaking, indicates that lead ammunition and tackle may have negative impacts on both wildlife and human health. Therefore, while the Service continues to increase access for hunting and fishing opportunities it will also evaluate the future of using lead in those opportunities on Service lands and waters. While this rulemaking provides access to increased opportunities, it does not increase or authorize the use of lead beyond fall 2026 for nine opportunities opened or expanded in this rule.”4https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2022-06/service-promotes-public-access-hunting-and-fishing
Threats to Bald and Golden Eagles
Lead toxicity has recently been shown to have population-level impacts on Bald and Golden Eagles. Bald Eagle population growth is estimated to experience 4.8% suppression from lead toxicity alone, and Golden Eagle population growth is suppressed 0.8%.5Slabe et al. (2022. Demographic implications of lead poisoning for eagles across North America. Science, 375. Pp. 779-782. Other studies have shown that lead reduces the overall resilience of Bald Eagle populations6Hanley, B. J. et al. (2021). Environmental lead reduces the resilience of bald eagle populations. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 86(22177)., increases susceptibility of Golden Eagles to other environmental toxins like mercury and DDE7Watson, J.W., and Davies, R.W. (2015). Lead, Mercury, and DDE in the Blood of Nesting Golden Eagles in the Columbia Basin, Washington. The Journal of Raptor Research, 49(2). Pp.217-221., and impairs motor and immune function.8Golden, N.H., Warner, S.E., and Coffey, M.J. (2016). A Review and Assessment of Spent Lead Ammunition and Its Exposure and Effects to Scavenging Birds in the United States. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 237. Pp. 123-191.
Bald Eagles were only recently delisted from endangered status and many wildlife experts feel Eastern Golden Eagles warrant stronger protections due to declining populations in the United States.9Hunt, W. G et al. (2017). Quantifying the demographic cost of human-related mortality to a raptor population. PLoS One 12:e0172232. Both species are protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act which mandates Eagles not suffer take, meaning no one is permitted to “pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, molest or disturb [Bald and Golden Eagles].”10https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2010-title16/pdf/USCODE-2010-title16-chap5A-subchapII.pdf Despite this, Eagles are being poisoned by contaminated game which was killed with or ingested lead.
Threats to Avian Scavengers and Upland Game Birds
Avian scavengers such as vultures, condors, and corvids are also victims of lead poisoning. Acute and chronic exposure to lead causes lethal and sub-lethal outcomes for numerous species which are common, and ecologically necessary, on National Wildlife Refuges.11Palmer, A.G. et al. (2022). Blood Lead Concentrations of Free-ranging North Florida Raptors: 2008-2017. Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 58(2). Ataxia, organ failure, immune suppression, and impaired reproduction are all potential outcomes of such lead exposure on the aforementioned species.12https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2022-06/service-promotes-public-access-hunting-and-fishing
Upland game birds such as Mourning Doves are also heavily impacted. Like some waterfowl, Mourning Doves and other upland game birds such as Ring-necked pheasants, Northern Bobwhite Quail, and Wild Turkeys have all been reported ingesting spent lead shot.13https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2009/3051/pdf/fs2009-3051.pdf A study on Mourning Doves found that the doves ingested both steel and lead shot; the birds which ingested non-lead shot were found to have much lower bone lead concentrations, indicating greater overall health and fewer potential negative side effects.14Franson, J.C., Hansen, S.P., and Schulz, J.H. (2009). Ingested shot and tissue lead concentrations in mourning doves. Ingestion of Spent Lead Ammunition: Implications for Wildlife and Humans (chapter). Peregrine Fund. Pp. 175-186.
Threats to Waterbirds
Discarded lead fishing tackle is also a major threat to wildlife. Lead fishing tackle is easily mistaken for grit or stones which may be ingested by waterbirds. When the lead is exposed to the digestive acids in gizzards and stomachs, it begins to dissolve and absorbs into the bloodstream where it can cause behavioral and physiological changes.15Michael, P. (2006). Fish and Wildlife Issues Related to the Use of Lead Fishing Gear. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife: Fish Program. A single lead sinker or jig is toxic enough to kill a loon when ingested,16Grade, T.G., Pokras, M., et al. (2019). Lead poisoning from ingestion of fishing gear: A review. Ambio, 48(0). Pp. 1023-1038. with as many as 25% of adult loon deaths in some states due to lead ingestion.17https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jwmg.21348 18https://www.pca.state.mn.us/air-water-land-climate/getting-lead-out-of-fishing-tackle Swans are also at risk, ingesting lead sinkers and jigs in shallow water, or ingesting lead fragments and ammunition when feeding in upland habitat.19The Trumpeter Swan Society (October 21, 2021). Position Statement: Lead in the Environment is a Significant Threat to Trumpeter Swans and Other Wildlife.
Positive Outcomes of Lead Restrictions
In 1991, the United States banned the use of lead shot for waterfowl hunting. The ban has led to reduced rates of crippling in ducks and geese,20Ellis, M.B., and Miller, C.A. (2021). The effect of a ban on the use of lead ammunition for waterfowl hunting on duck and goose crippling rates in Illinois. Wildlife Biology, e01001. reduced detectable blood lead concentration in ducks,21Lewis, N.L., et al. (2021). Blood lead declines in wintering American black ducks in New Jersey following the Lead Shot ban. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management, 12(1). and a decrease in non-hunting duck mortality in the years following the ban.22Havera, A.W., and Zercher, B. (2000) Ingestion of lead and nontoxic shotgun pellets by ducks in the Mississippi flyway. Journal of Wildlife Management 64. Pp. 848–857.
After lead shot was banned in the range of the California Condor in 2008, California saw a measurable decrease in lead exposure to predatory and scavenging raptors due to hunter compliance with lead ammunition regulations.23Kelly, R.T. et al. (2011). Impact of the California Lead Ammunition Ban on Reducing Lead Exposure in Golden Eagles and Turkey Vultures. PLoS One, 6(4).
New Hampshire and Maine have both instituted lead fishing tackle bans and restrictions to protect wildlife, and neither state has experienced a measurable decrease in recreational fishing.
Additionally, switching away from lead ammunition and fishing tackle has positive impacts on human health. There is no safe level of lead exposure according to the World Health Organization,24https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and- health#:~:text=There%20is%20no%20known%20safe,symptoms%20and%20effects%20also%20increase and hunters and anglers ingesting or interacting with wildlife containing or exposed to lead potentially suffer negative health outcomes.
As is stated in the Regulations, conversion to non-lead ammunition will be phased in for all hunting over the next 3 years on all refuges. Non-lead ammunition has the same performance and accuracy as traditional lead-based products. The transition to non-lead ammunition is not expected to impact harvest of big game species.
Suggested Changes to the Regulations
As has been outlined above, the risks to wildlife and human health from lead toxicity are significant. The Regulations themselves acknowledge these risks, yet allow for the use of lead ammunition and fishing tackle until September of 2026, up to three years from now.
Lead alternatives are already widely available on the market. The Regulations go so far as to state that the relatively low quantity of ammunition used in big game hunting means there will not be significant increases in cost to hunters, and “minority or low-income communities would therefore not be disproportionately affected by any impacts from this proposed action or any of the alternatives.” Non-lead shot is already required for waterfowl hunting, and compared to other items involved in hunting (firearm purchase and maintenance, travel, lodging, licensing, etc.), ammunition and tackle are a small piece of overall cost.
We support and respect voluntary switch away efforts being led by other conservation groups and State wildlife agencies and feel that these are very important pieces of the overall strategy of lead abatement. For reference, a recent audit of State Wildlife Agency websites by American Bird Conservancy found only 11 states had thorough and easy-to-access information on lead ammunition, and only 10 on lead fishing tackle.25https://abcbirds.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ABC-2023-SWA-Lead-Fact-Sheet.pdf For Federal lands set aside for wildlife conservation, such as Refuges, we believe lead should be phased-out in an expedited manner.
We the undersigned suggest the United States Fish and Wildlife Service alter the Regulations to phase-out lead ammunition over an eighteen-month period so as to uphold the self-stated purpose of the National Wildlife Refuge system: wildlife conservation.26https://www.fws.gov/program/national-wildlife-refuge-system/about-us We acknowledge the need for an adjustment period so necessary administrative and practical changes can be made and implemented and urge that the three-year period be shortened to eighteen months, allowing for one full hunting season to educate hunters before the final change is made.
We also request that fishing tackle containing lead, including but not limited to jigs, sinkers, and lures, is phased out for use in the Refuges along the same timeline as lead ammunition.
Conclusion
We the undersigned strongly support National Wildlife Refuge System: 2023-2024 Station- Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations and ask that it be swiftly enacted with the proposed changes. The significant threats posed by lead ammunition and fishing tackle can and must be curtailed.
Our National Wildlife Refuge system is a haven for wildlife and the nearly 50 million people who visit it annually. It is a system of lands and should support the health and wellbeing of all wildlife across the country. We hope the actions proposed by the service are just the beginning of a new wave of hunting and fishing regulations which put wildlife and human health front and center by phasing-out lead ammunition and fishing tackle entirely.
Hunters and anglers are the cornerstones of the conservation community and support their continued access to public lands for hunting and fishing. Please feel free to contact any of the undersigned for additional information or clarification.
Sincerely,
E. Hardy Kern III
Director of Government Relations
American Bird Conservancy
Jonathan Evans
Environmental Health Legal Director and Senior Attorney
Center for Biological
Chandra Rosenthal
Rocky Mountain PEER Counsel
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
Jim Brown
Director of Policy
Audubon Mid-Atlantic
Molly Gezella-Barnczyk
Executive Director
National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association
Michael B. Murray
Chair, Executive Council
Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks
Brian M. Wargo, Ph D.
Hawk Migration Association of North America
Education and Conservation Committee – Chair
Kurt Schwarz
Conservation Chair Emeritus
Maryland Ornithological Society
Jeffrey Nelson
President
The Trumpeter Swan Society
Julie Skoglund
Director of Operations
International Bird rescue