Lead Sinkers, Ammo No Longer OK in National Parks

First posted on 03-18-2009

The National Park Service is stepping up efforts to eliminate poisonous lead from national parks by persuading hunters and fishermen to use shot and sinkers made of less toxic metals.

“Our goal is to eliminate the use of lead ammunition and lead fishing tackle in parks by the end of 2010,” Acting National Park Service Director Dan Wenk said today. “We want to take a leadership role in removing lead from the environment.”

The new lead reduction efforts include changes in the activities of National Park Service staff, 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 that may feed upon the carcasses.

Non-toxic substitutes for lead ammunition made in the United States are now widely available, including tungsten, copper, and steel, says Wenk.

Lead is an environmental contaminant affecting many areas of the world, including U.S. national parks.

The National Park Service will develop educational materials to increase awareness about the consequences of lead exposure and the benefits of using lead-free ammunition and fishing tackle.

Resource managers recognize that hunting and fishing play an historical role in the complicated and intensive management of wildlife populations, says Wenk. 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, Wenk says.

“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,” he said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has banned lead sinkers in two national wildlife refuges and Yellowstone National Park. Restrictions have been discussed on the use of lead sinkers and jigs at other national wildlife refuges.

New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont and New York have banned the use and sale of small lead fishing sinkers.

In June 2000, the Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board voted to prohibit the use of all lead sinkers for the taking of fish in Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs.

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