It's time to get the lead out of the environment, according to some who would like to see the metal removed from fishing tackle that studies show is harmful to wildlife.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Health Team, one-third of Common Loons submitted for necropsy died from lead poisoning from the remnants of lead fishing tackle recovered from their GI tracts.
Trumpeter Swans, American Woodcock and scavengers such as Bald Eagles and Ospreys are also at risk, according to DNR studies.
A proposal brought before the public at the 2010 Spring Fish and Wildlife Hearings would ban the use of any fishing tackle 2.5 centimeters (one inch) long and 25 grams (one ounce) in weight. Removing the lead from fishing tackle of this size would be the most effective way to protect wildlife, proponents say.
The proposal met with a mixed response at the spring hearings. It passed by a slim margin statewide, 1,980 to 1,818. However, more counties rejected the proposal (37) than favored it (33) with two counties recording a tie vote.
Citizens in Waukesha County voted no on the question by a vote of 53-79. But the reason for the rejection may have had little to do with fishing. Some are worried that lead ban advocates have a much larger target in mind.
They believe that banning lead in fishing gear will become a foothold for an assault on the use of lead in ammunition used for not only many kinds of hunting, but also target shooting activities.
Costs could become prohibitive, says Don Camplin of North Prairie in Waukesha County. He is a delegate to the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, past president of the Waukesha County Conservation Alliance and a member of the Wern Valley Hunt Club where officials are concerned about what the ban might mean to their sport shooting activities. "Shells could easily go to more than a dollar apiece," Camplin said.
Both bismuth and tungsten, sometimes used as substitutes for lead, currently sell for more than $20 per pound while lead sells for less than two dollars per pound.
The advantages to lead are several, including its lower melting point which make it easier to mold into a variety of products. The machinery used to process lead is less expensive and simpler to operate and maintain.
Non-lead products currently on the market typically use composite materials that could include the more expensive bismuth and tungsten, as well as copper, tin, stainless steel, ceramic and nickel.
Others downplay the difference in cost.
"The use of composites in fishing tackle lowers the price to just pennies more than lead-based gear," says Stacy Craig, Loon Watch Coordinator for the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute at Northland College in Ashland.
"The copper composites offered by Clearly Outdoors in Eau Claire are just one example," she asserts. Numerous other commercial outlets carry lead-free fishing tackle. (See side bar)
The concern for lead leaching into the soil may have some merit as evidence mounts regarding the impact of lead-based materials on wildlife. There have been incidents where lead was believed to be the culprit in significant wildlife mortality.
In 1992, between 200 and 300 Canada geese died as a result of acute lead poisoning from ingesting lead shot on a former trap and skeet shooting range near Lake Geneva in Walworth County. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reportedly spent close to $200 million on a Superfund cleanup involving the removal of 28,000 tons of lead-contaminated soil from the site.
Monitoring of several bird species by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Wildlife Management detected high levels of lead in the carcasses of birds on which necropsies were performed between 2006 and 2008.
Regarding loon mortality, "Remnants of lead fishing tackle were recovered from the GI tracts of loons in all cases where lead toxicity was a major contributor to the cause of death," the report states.
The report also concludes that approximately 25 percent of swan fatalities were attributed to lead toxicity, while 15 percent of eagle mortality was caused by toxic levels of lead.
Other states, particularly in New England, have embarked on an aggressive pattern of reducing the amount of lead released into the environment. Vermont restricts the use of sinkers to one-half ounce, but ignores other kinds of lead fishing-related items such as jigs.
Maine makes it unlawful to sell or offer for sale a lead sinker for fishing that weighs one-half ounce or less. Artificial lures, weighted lines or jig heads are not included in the ban.
The Conservation Congress proposal was recommended for advancement by the DNR.
- Lee Fahrney is the Monroe Times outdoors writer. He can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Health Team, one-third of Common Loons submitted for necropsy died from lead poisoning from the remnants of lead fishing tackle recovered from their GI tracts.
Trumpeter Swans, American Woodcock and scavengers such as Bald Eagles and Ospreys are also at risk, according to DNR studies.
A proposal brought before the public at the 2010 Spring Fish and Wildlife Hearings would ban the use of any fishing tackle 2.5 centimeters (one inch) long and 25 grams (one ounce) in weight. Removing the lead from fishing tackle of this size would be the most effective way to protect wildlife, proponents say.
The proposal met with a mixed response at the spring hearings. It passed by a slim margin statewide, 1,980 to 1,818. However, more counties rejected the proposal (37) than favored it (33) with two counties recording a tie vote.
Citizens in Waukesha County voted no on the question by a vote of 53-79. But the reason for the rejection may have had little to do with fishing. Some are worried that lead ban advocates have a much larger target in mind.
They believe that banning lead in fishing gear will become a foothold for an assault on the use of lead in ammunition used for not only many kinds of hunting, but also target shooting activities.
Costs could become prohibitive, says Don Camplin of North Prairie in Waukesha County. He is a delegate to the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, past president of the Waukesha County Conservation Alliance and a member of the Wern Valley Hunt Club where officials are concerned about what the ban might mean to their sport shooting activities. "Shells could easily go to more than a dollar apiece," Camplin said.
Both bismuth and tungsten, sometimes used as substitutes for lead, currently sell for more than $20 per pound while lead sells for less than two dollars per pound.
The advantages to lead are several, including its lower melting point which make it easier to mold into a variety of products. The machinery used to process lead is less expensive and simpler to operate and maintain.
Non-lead products currently on the market typically use composite materials that could include the more expensive bismuth and tungsten, as well as copper, tin, stainless steel, ceramic and nickel.
Others downplay the difference in cost.
"The use of composites in fishing tackle lowers the price to just pennies more than lead-based gear," says Stacy Craig, Loon Watch Coordinator for the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute at Northland College in Ashland.
"The copper composites offered by Clearly Outdoors in Eau Claire are just one example," she asserts. Numerous other commercial outlets carry lead-free fishing tackle. (See side bar)
The concern for lead leaching into the soil may have some merit as evidence mounts regarding the impact of lead-based materials on wildlife. There have been incidents where lead was believed to be the culprit in significant wildlife mortality.
In 1992, between 200 and 300 Canada geese died as a result of acute lead poisoning from ingesting lead shot on a former trap and skeet shooting range near Lake Geneva in Walworth County. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reportedly spent close to $200 million on a Superfund cleanup involving the removal of 28,000 tons of lead-contaminated soil from the site.
Monitoring of several bird species by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Wildlife Management detected high levels of lead in the carcasses of birds on which necropsies were performed between 2006 and 2008.
Regarding loon mortality, "Remnants of lead fishing tackle were recovered from the GI tracts of loons in all cases where lead toxicity was a major contributor to the cause of death," the report states.
The report also concludes that approximately 25 percent of swan fatalities were attributed to lead toxicity, while 15 percent of eagle mortality was caused by toxic levels of lead.
Other states, particularly in New England, have embarked on an aggressive pattern of reducing the amount of lead released into the environment. Vermont restricts the use of sinkers to one-half ounce, but ignores other kinds of lead fishing-related items such as jigs.
Maine makes it unlawful to sell or offer for sale a lead sinker for fishing that weighs one-half ounce or less. Artificial lures, weighted lines or jig heads are not included in the ban.
The Conservation Congress proposal was recommended for advancement by the DNR.
- Lee Fahrney is the Monroe Times outdoors writer. He can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
