The FRONT LINE
FALLING DOMINOES
WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A LEAD BAN ON REFUGES , ENVIRONMENTALISTS PUSH FOR MORE .
That didn ’ t take long . Within two months of the U . S . Fish & Wildlife Service adopting the hunt-fish rule , which began the process of banning the use of lead ammunition and fishing tackle on wildlife refuges , an environmental group has petitioned the government to expand the rule to all property managed by the National Park Service .
The Sportsmen ’ s Alliance broke the news when Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Director of Fish & Wildlife Martha Williams began secret negotiations with the Center for Biological Diversity after the extreme environmental organization filed a lawsuit against a Trump-era rule to expand hunting and fishing in the refuge system . In the Summer 2022 issue of The Sportsmen ’ s Advocate ( page 7 ), we outlined how this rule change could lead to a nationwide lead-ammo and -tackle ban .
The floodgates for environmentalists to push rule changes , petitions or lawsuits that force the adoption of similar rules on other federal and state lands have officially opened .
On Nov . 17 , the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility ( PEER ) filed a petition to ban lead ammunition and fishing tackle on all property managed by the National Park Service . According to the petition , this includes more than 51 million acres open to hunting .
The PEER petition cites the hunt-fish rule while arguing for a total lead ban . The petition also mimics the hunt-fish rule by dismissing any claims that lead bans will reduce hunting and fishing participation . Hunters and anglers remain the backbone of fish and wildlife funding in America , and yet , PEER rejects this argument out of hand , stating , without any evidence , that such costs will be “ minimal ” and of no concern .
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