I have already written to the DNR about this, from the link that was provided a few weeks ago.
On Tue, Dec 15, 2015 at 4:39 PM, MOU admin <[email protected]> wrote: > (Posted by gordon andersson <[email protected]> via moumn.org) > > Birders of MN > > > > Dr Lanyon is the former Director of the Bell Museum, and current head of > Dept of EEB > and prof at UM. He is also the president of the American Ornithologists > Union. Deborah > Reynolds, Chair of Bd of Audubon MN is also an author. This was in the > StarTribune on > Dec 11. > > > > ------------------------------------------ > > > > It's time for the DNR to ban toxic lead shot > > > > Birds face a wide range of threats, but lead poisoning doesn't have to be > one of them. > Let's join our Dakota neighbors in common-sense safeguards. > > > > The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has a tough choice to > make (and > this time it is not about PolyMet). Now that the public comment period has > ended, the > agency will have to choose whether to continue to allow the use of toxic > lead shot in most > wildlife management areas (WMAs), or join our neighbors in North Dakota > and South > Dakota by setting up common-sense safeguards that benefit wildlife and > people alike. > > > > This change is necessary and overdue, because it has been proven that lead > shot poisons > birds and wildlife. It takes only one or two ingested lead pellets to kill > a bird, and if you > have ever seen a bird dying unnecessarily of lead poisoning, it is > heartbreaking. > > Waterfowl such as mallards swallow small rocks, or grit, to help with > their digestion, but > they easily confuse spent shot for grit. Also, bald eagles, golden eagles, > other birds of > prey and scavengers can accidentally ingest lead shot when consuming > injured or dead > game. > > > > Since 1991, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has required waterfowl > hunters to use > nontoxic shot. Also, lead shot is not allowed on federal Waterfowl > Production Areas > (WPAs), which are often adjacent to WMAs. The nontoxic-shot requirement > has saved > millions of birds and should be extended to Minnesota’s WMAs, because > birds don’t > recognize boundary lines. Lead shot poisons and kills birds no matter > where they pick it > up. > > Our birds face a wide range of threats, but lead poisoning does not need > to be one of > them. It is a relatively easy fix in comparison to other issues. We can > protect iconic > Minnesota birds such as the common loon and the trumpeter swan, as well as > more than > 100 other bird species, from ingesting toxic lead shot simply by > establishing nontoxic shot > zones. > > > > The myth that this rule change will drive hunters to other states is > completely > unsubstantiated. In 2006, a Nontoxic Shot Advisory Committee was formed in > Minnesota > and included representatives from Pheasants Forever, the Ruffed Grouse > Society, Gander > Mountain, the Minnesota Conservation Federation and Audubon Minnesota. The > committee > learned that South Dakota, a popular destination for pheasant hunting, has > had nontoxic- > shot requirements on nearly all public lands for more than 25 years and > this requirement > has not reduced that state’s hunting revenue. As a matter of fact, the > Dakotas continue to > be a national destination for hunters. > > > > We need to safeguard our public lands and bring forward measures that > protect our birds > from lead poisoning. We have removed lead from our consumer goods and our > communities, and it only makes sense to remove it from our WMAs. Suitable > alternatives > to toxic lead shot already are being used by many hunters. > > Minnesota has always been considered a leader when it comes to > conservation. Let’s not > get left behind any longer on lead shot. > > > > Deborah Reynolds is board chair of Audubon Minnesota. Scott Lanyon is a > board member > of Audubon Minnesota; a professor and head of the University of > Minnesota’s Department > of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, and president of the American > Ornithologists’ Union. > > ---------------------- > > > > Meanwhile, 18 Chambers of Commerce have written a letter to Gov Dayton, > DNR Comm > Landwehr, and seven members of the MN House and Senate asking that lead > shot not be > banned on public lands. They state that MN hunters might go to > neighboring states to > hunt instead due to increased cost. > > > > GAndersson > > St Paul > > > > "Never a day passes but that I do myself the honor to commune with some of > nature's > varied forms." --- George Washington Carver > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
