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NRC betrays Iowa Sportsman Again!

tc1968

tc1968

New Member
Betrayal to Iowa Sportsman

Well the National Resource Commission (NRC) has betrayed Iowa hunters again. The Iowa Legislation debated the lead shot vs. steel shot and the effect it has on the environment and wildlife. Overwhelmingly, it was concluded there is NO, let me repeat that, NO sound scientific evidence that lead shot, used by hunters, effects the environment or wildlife. Furthermore, Governor Brandstad informed the public and the NRC that there is no reason to band lead shot or lead fishing lures; when he took the proposed (four) public areas off the table from the NRC’s misguided, politically and emotionally driven desire to effectively eliminate hunting and fishing in Iowa. Well the poor rule setting, anti-hunting board (NRC) has done it again to the Iowa hunter and ignored the Iowa Legislation and included [in the new dove law] the rule to mandate the use of non-toxic shot. Some may say, so what? Well take away the fact there is NO scientific reason to use steel, take away the fact they totally ignored the Iowa Legislators, take away the fact they backdoored the ruling last minute; the new rule is a betrayal to the Iowa Sportsmen and is effectively puts another useless rule in place that is going to limit and decrease the amount of hunters in Iowa. A box of lead shot [number 8 shot] is around $5, but a box of non-toxic shot is pushing $10 - $20! Now take a family of four hunting ( we are all trying to recruit new hunters), and each family member shooting three boxes, you took a family event from $60 to $240! Put that on top of the license fee, gas and other costs in general and we wonder (in part) why hunting is declining. Furthermore, 95% of dove hunting will take place on private property so one can only conclude the goal of the NRC is to eliminate hunting, private land rights and all lead in Iowa – shotgun deer hunters, predator hunters and fisherman beware your next! It is time for a change. It is time for us to make our voices heard. It is time to demand the Governor to appoint people who hunt and are for Iowa Sportsman to the NRC board. It is time for the politically driven, anti-hunting, misguided, misinformed, NRC members to resign. Please call our Governor (515.281.5211) and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Director Roger Lande (515.281.5384)as well as the NRC Chairman Greg Drees (712.320.0610) today ! Be heard! Be involved!
 
I couldn't agree more tc1968. When I heard about this last minute backdoor amendment I couldn't believe that they had actually went against the Iowa Sportsman and the Iowa legislature. There is no reason to make Iowa Sportsman use non-toxic shot for dove hunting. I'll will be calling them first thing Monday! I encourage everyone else to call as well. Governor Brandstad and the Iowa legislature was against this and we need to let him know that we are against this non-toxic shot amendment and we want changes made in the NRC!!! I would also recommend that everyone call their legislators both House and Senate and request that they call all three as well. Lets get this changed before opening day!!!
 
Very well said but I'm afraid it is the way of the world.....a select few of silver spooned hand fed ignorants are chosen to govern the people and make rules as they see fit. It's ridiculous. Gotta love democrocy.
 
Ignored

The problem is everybody thinks "oh this won't happen to my part of the sport - they won't touch bowhunting". "Why are they b*******, just buy the steel shot and shut up".

Guys and gals - I am hear to tell you the current make up of the DNR and the NRC wants to eliminate all lead from Iowa and add more regulations. This means fishing lures, shotgun slugs, .22 shells and even BB guns. Unless you call, e-mail and knock on doors and bug the living hell out of the Govenor's office and the state legislation this is only going to get worse!

There is a major national debate right now on lead on engines and anybody under 16 can't ride or be around and ATV, motorcycle, moped or any engine due to the lead in them. This isn't funny people.

Imagine as a kid having to buy a $10 box of non-toxic .22 shells to go shoot squirrels. No problem you spend the money and buy the shells - Oh wait, your favorite public ground for squirrel hunting now is a " enviromental test area" with a bike trail through it, thanks to the DNR.

No problem you can just ask the local farmer to hunt on his farm that has a nice creek with oaks - Oh wait the DNR has control there too and has regulations in place telling the farmer that he is in a special water run off area and you can't shoot lead there either.

No problem you will just drive up the road to a large area your grandpa used to hunt, it has trees and animals everywhere - oh crap the DNR has designated this an in "wildlife in jeopardy area" and has been shut down due to past lead shot and shotgun slugs.

So you sell the .22 and take up fishing.

Oh wait the DNR and the NRC has now decided that all of Iowa - public and private waters are "lead free" and your hook - bobber and sinker costs $35 and there is a $10 "non-lead tax", plus they now require a fishing saftey cerificate for all under the age of 10 to fish in Iowa and it cost $75 to attend. Then when you pass you purchase a fishing license (which now costs $100) so they can fund the DNR's research on "the effects of non-toxic fishing lures" in the waters of Iowa.

My little story here is going to make some of you think I am crazy, others will pick up the phone and call. Either way, everybody needs to look to the past and see the power grab, control and the stupidiy of the DNR and NRC. Wake up, get off your butt and make some calls.

It is coming people. In some form or another is it already here. And for those who say there is nothing you can do, I say go down with a fight - don't just sit on this site and bitch when your freedom, your lifestyle and your sole is taken away by a bunch of anti-hunting a********.
 
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After making some calls I was told that the NRC's goals are to ultimately ban all lead. Not only ammunition (bullets, shot, slugs, pellets for air rifles, ect) but all fishing tackle (jig heads, sinkers, ect) even to go as far as to make it illegal to have in your possession lead of any kind while hunting of fishing. That would even include decoy weights and anything else that contained lead. I also found out that the NRC planned to implement the non-toxic shot regulation all along. Therefore after the legislature voted to not implement any further lead regulations they still took it upon themselves to throw this last minute amendment on the dove regulations. Be sure to call the Governor, DNR director, your legislators and the NRC chairman today.
 
DNR checking for ammo

Hey iowa dove hunters.

I just happen to work for one of the BIG 3 ammo manufacturers.
The Iowa DNR just called my office to see if we were going to have any steel shot available to send to the stores up there. I wouldn't expect to see too much product available on the store shelves.

Way too late to order.
 
Here is an article from the Associated Press. :confused:

Bird Group Hails Iowa DNR Decision

The nation's leading bird conservation organization - American Bird Conservancy (ABC) - today hailed the decision by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) yesterday who approved the first Mourning Dove hunting season in Iowa since 1918 while at the same time prohibiting the use of highly toxic lead ammunition for such hunting.

"Over 500 scientific studies say that Iowa DNR did the right thing in taking action that will reduce the proliferation of one of the world's most toxic substances - lead. Scores of non-target wildlife will be spared needless and agonizing deaths from lead that they might otherwise have ingested, including Bald Eagles, hawks, ravens and other birds. This decision was pro-wildlife and it was pro-environment. Ironically, Mourning Doves are among the birds most impacted, with up to about 10 million dying from lead poisoning every year," said ABC President George Fenwick.

"Contrary to what some members of the gun lobby may say, this action is absolutely not anti-hunting. Hunters can still engage in a pastime that has been part of our culture for hundreds of years. The only change is that they need to use non-toxic ammunition," Fenwick added.

The non-toxic shot requirement follows several discussions by the commission during the past year concerning the impacts of lead shot to the environment and on wildlife. Lead - or toxic - shot used in hunting can be ingested by wildlife. There has been a national ban on the use of lead shot for waterfowl hunting since 1991 with non-toxic shot for waterfowl being in place in Iowa since 1987.

The rules approved by the commission allow for a dove season starting Sept. 1st and ending Nov. 9th. The final rule allows the harvest of 15 doves a day and can be either mourning or Eurasian collared-doves. The possession limit is 30 and the season is open state-wide.

Commissioners added and approved an amendment on Thursday that would require hunters to only use non-toxic shot while hunting doves anywhere in the state of Iowa.

According to Iowa DNR, he decision to ban toxic shot for dove hunting was based largely on the fact that much of the hunting occurs over a small area which would increase the likelihood of lead concentrations being created.

A series of recent developments on the issue of lead ammunition continues to bolster the case against its continued use, including editorials by leaders in the hunting and fishing community, findings from several new studies, and actions by the U.S. military.

Paul Hansen, former executive director of the Izaak Walton League of America, began his editorial in the Aspen Times by saying: "It is time for those of us who hunt to quit using outdated lead bullets and start moving toward high-tech copper bullets-even if they are more expensive. Lead bullets are bad for everyone: They contaminate the meat we bring home as well as the gut piles we leave behind, and they also poison any scavengers that consume the contaminated meat."

Ted Williams, editor of Fly Rod and Reel Online, said in Audubon Magazine that: "Despite cheap available alternatives most American sportsmen are still using lead ammunition and fishing tackle. Because of this, some of our most majestic birds, from eagles to loons to condors pay a terrible price."

In addition, one of the world's leading newspapers, the New York Times, has also called for an end to lead ammunition use in hunting. A May 16, 2011editorial states: "Banning lead poses no threat to hunters or fishermen. It is a way of making sure they kill only the prey they seek without inadvertentlykilling other creatures as well."

Four new university studies further documenting lead poisoning of non-target wildlife have also been published or announced. Following is a summary of those recent studies:

Scientists at the University of California-Santa Cruz, the University of Wyoming, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service conducted a study that points to lead ammunition as a primary factor limiting the survival and recovery of one of the country's most imperiled birds, the California Condor. This peer-reviewed study, announced at the Society of Toxicology's Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. earlier this year, is especially important because not only does it cite lead as a major factor in condor deaths, but it identifies lead ammunition specifically as the culprit. The results demonstrate that about 90% of free-flying condors have been exposed to lead-based ammunition. The study also found that between 2004-2009, about 35% of free-flying condors in California were chronically exposed to lead levels well-known to be toxic.

Another peer-reviewed study by the University of California, University of Idaho, and California Department of Fish and Game, published online on April 6, 2011 in the Public Library of Science, also connected lead ammunition with lead poisoning of birds. The study found that blood-lead concentrations in Golden Eagles and Turkey Vultures declined significantly following a ban on lead ammunition in parts of California.

Another peer-reviewed study by the University of California, published online in April 2011 in the Public Library of Science, compared blood-lead concentration in Turkey Vultures within and outside of the deer hunting season, and in areas with varying wild pig hunting intensity. Lead exposure in Turkey Vultures was found to be significantly higher during the deer hunting season compared to the off-season, and blood lead concentration was positively correlated with increasing wild pig hunting intensity. The results provide evidence that spent lead ammunition in carrion poses a significant risk of lead exposure to scavengers.

A fourth study by the University of Glasgow and the Grange Wildlife Centre in England found that Mute Swans with moderate blood lead levels suffered an increased risk of collision with power lines and other overhead cables.

These studies complement a burgeoning body of hundreds of peer-reviewed, scientific articles supporting the fact that lead is toxic to wildlife.

Another development impacting the continued use of lead ammunition is a decision by the U.S. Army to move to a lead-free 5.56mm bullet. Lt. Col. Jeff Woods, the Army's small caliber Ammunition Product Manager, was effusive in his praise of its performance in the May issue of www.Military.com. "There's nothing out there right now that can perform like this round on this wide a range of targets. This is a clear case where making something environmentally friendly works for us," he said.

Army officials said the new ammunition improved hard-target capability and provided more dependable, consistent performance at all distances, as well as improved accuracy, reduced muzzle flash, and increased velocity.

"Clearly, the military praise of the performance of this lead-free ammunition speaks for itself. I doubt that there are any more knowledgeable people when it comes to understanding and appreciating ammunition performance, than the military. The myth that lead-free ammunition doesn't perform has been exposed, and hunters can use non-toxic ammunition with confidence that it will meet their high standards," Fenwick said.

Lead is a highly toxic substance that is dangerous to wildlife even at low levels. Exposure can cause a range of health effects, from loss of coordination and nerve damage to acute poisoning and death. Long-term effects can include mental retardation, reduced reproduction, and damage to neurological development.

Several studies of various species of birds suggest that up to 10 million birds and other animals die each year from lead poisoning in the United States, including Bald Eagles, Golden Eagles, Loons, Trumpeter Swans, and doves. This occurs when animals scavenge on carcasses shot and contaminated with lead bullet fragments, or pick up and eat spent lead shot pellets or lost fishing weights, mistaking them for food or grit. Some animals die within days, while others suffer for years from lead's debilitating effects.

Lead ammunition also poses health risks to people. Lead bullets fragment on impact into minute particles, spreading throughout game meat that people eat. X-ray studies show that hundreds of dust-sized lead particles can contaminate meat more than a foot and a half away from the bullet track. A recent study found that up to 87% of game killed by lead ammunition contains unsafe levels of lead when consumed by pregnant women or children. Nearly ten million hunters, their families, and low-income beneficiaries of venison donations may be at risk.

American Bird Conservancy (www.abcbirds.org) conserves native birds and their habitats throughout the Americas by safeguarding the rarest species, conserving and restoring habitats, and reducing threats while building capacity in the bird conservation movement. ABC is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit membership organization that is consistently awarded a high rating by the independent group, Charity Navigator.

Contact:
Robert Johns, 202-234-7181 ext.210, bjohns@abcbirds.org


The above post & any replies to this post doesn't necessarily reflect the opinion of iowawhitail.com, the administrators or the moderators of this website.

This post is intended for informational purposes only!
 
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Last winter I noticed a bald eagle had been sitting on the same blowdown for two days. I called my CO, but he was busy and gave me the number for the raptor recovery center. I was able to catch him, bring him home and give him a quick meal of raw deer heart, which he gobbled down from my hand. Drove him down to the center in time for them to save him with the IV treatments. He was the 22nd bald eagle brought in so far after shotgun season for the year.All tested positive for lead poisoning. They say it only takes a baby asprin size fragment to kill an eagle.We have alot of eagles that winter here, so I can see the point of useing non-lead ammo even for deer. With all the unrecovered deer during shotgun drives and gut piles with lead fragments, thats alot of poison for hungry eagles and hawks.I have seen the pictures of x-rayed deer carcasses described in Blakes post. Anyone ever use copper in their mloader? I think we are gonna switch.





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Thankfully I shoot deer with arrows with no lead. The only lead that flies from me is a few shots during pheasant season BUT I am strongly thinking about changing- actually I will be. I posted something on here last year on my concern about the birds I shoot with lead that don't go down- will those birds die later OR do they only die from ingesting? I still don't know the answer. I have read a lot on ingestion causing major trouble. I also have rescued countless hawks and owls (I have some pics like 6x6's eagle). Personally, I will be looking for a lead alternative for my pheasant hunting this fall. Yes, I hate this part BUT... I guess I will bite the bullet and spend a lot more on shells, I only shoot about 50 shells a year (absolute max) & I guess personally it won't bother me to drop a lot more on shells. I understand how that's frustrating for other folks though. I still have some research to do on what to use, prices, what's effective, etc. I know it won't be steel BUT maybe Bismuth or something???? I'll have some answers by fall I hope. I personally hope they do-away with lead and I know this is not popular among a lot of people BUT that's just how I feel.
 
Sligh, I think its only when they ingest it , the lead stays in the gizzard and takes them down quick. Most of the birds that come into the recovery center are too late and dont make it.
 
blake said:
Four new university studies further documenting lead poisoning of non-target wildlife have also been published or announced. Following is a summary of those recent studies:

Scientists at the University of California-Santa Cruz, the University of Wyoming, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service conducted a study that points to lead ammunition as a primary factor limiting the survival and recovery of one of the country's most imperiled birds, the California Condor. This peer-reviewed study, announced at the Society of Toxicology's Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. earlier this year, is especially important because not only does it cite lead as a major factor in condor deaths, but it identifies lead ammunition specifically as the culprit. The results demonstrate that about 90% of free-flying condors have been exposed to lead-based ammunition. The study also found that between 2004-2009, about 35% of free-flying condors in California were chronically exposed to lead levels well-known to be toxic.

Another peer-reviewed study by the University of California, University of Idaho, and California Department of Fish and Game, published online on April 6, 2011 in the Public Library of Science, also connected lead ammunition with lead poisoning of birds. The study found that blood-lead concentrations in Golden Eagles and Turkey Vultures declined significantly following a ban on lead ammunition in parts of California.

Another peer-reviewed study by the University of California, published online in April 2011 in the Public Library of Science, compared blood-lead concentration in Turkey Vultures within and outside of the deer hunting season, and in areas with varying wild pig hunting intensity. Lead exposure in Turkey Vultures was found to be significantly higher during the deer hunting season compared to the off-season, and blood lead concentration was positively correlated with increasing wild pig hunting intensity. The results provide evidence that spent lead ammunition in carrion poses a significant risk of lead exposure to scavengers.

A fourth study by the University of Glasgow and the Grange Wildlife Centre in England found that Mute Swans with moderate blood lead levels suffered an increased risk of collision with power lines and other overhead cables.
Click to expand...

Why doesn't it suprise me that these studies come from California and England! Peer reviewed by libral professors with the same ideology. I sure would like to see where these researchers got their funding. Do you think it might skew their results/testing protocols.

From New World Encyclopedia "In 1984, the National Wildlife Federation listed hunting, power line electrocution, and collisions in flight as the leading causes of eagle deaths. Bald eagle populations have also been negatively affected by oil, lead, and mercury pollution, and by human and predator intrusion."

Well we better stop drilling for oil because obviously a few eagles must have died in an oil spill at one time. Just like a few die from lead poisioning. How about that Mercury pollution??? Isn't that what the government says we have to use in the light bulbs that look like a pig tail so we can all do our part to save energy and of course the planet. You know the bulbs that you have to call in a HazMat team clean your carpet if one gets broken. Oh wait a second....that part of the encyclopedia is quoted from NWF (National Wildlife Federation). I guess I'd only believe it more if it had come from PETA, WWF (World Wildlife Federation) or the Sierra Club. Don't believe all the crap spoon fed to you on this kinda stuff especially from liberal anti-hunting groups. If someone is doing research and the money to do that research is coming from an environmental group/or being completed or overseen by liberals with special interests they can change the testing to come to any conclusion they want to. You ever heard the saying "figures can lie and liers can figure" All they have to do is change sample size, locations, and or exclude test results as falling out of norms to give the statistical results they want. I looked for the research papers on PLoS to see what they found and sample sizes but didn't find any of the cited studies listed above.

The same political groups pushed on us how the wolves are so beneficial to the ecosystem, so they were reintroduced into Yellowstone. Now the elk herd in Yellowstone that varied less than 10% in population prior to reintroduction of the wolves has gone from 20,000 head down to 5,000 and continues to decline. Not just the elk but moose and other ungulates populations continue to decline to the point that the Division of Wildlife in several States are seriously looking at closing hunting seasons in many units.

As for the 22 bald eagles brought to the rescue center. Those eagles that had lead poisioning could get that from many sources. The preferred diet and a large portion of the eagles diet is fish and that is why they concentrate along rivers and lakes to catch and scavange on fish. So how many of the eagles are exposed to lead in dead fish not carcasses. How about all the mercury they ingest from those fish. NWF: "Fish with high mercury levels have difficulty schooling and spawning, birds lay fewer eggs and have trouble caring for their chicks, and mammals have impaired motor skills that affect their ability to hunt and find food." Now factor in that eagles are located from Alaska to Mexico from the West Coast to the East Coast. Now factor in 100,000 plus eagles with some migrating very little and some thousands of miles, when and where they picked up lead or mercury one can only speculate. Having said that I would bet that not one got their lead poisioning from a dead dove shot with lead birdshot.

I can't believe that with 10 million birds and animals dropping dead from lead poisioning every year that I don't see carcasses laying everywhere.

I found these mortality causes listed for 1,228 individual eagles tested between 1963-1984. Death was attributed to the following causes: Trama (impact with wires or vehicles) 329 (27%), Gunshot 309 (25%), electrocution 130 (11%), Emaciation 110 (9%), Trapping 68 (5%), disease 31 (2%), undetermined 93 (8%), Poisioning 158 (13%).

Skip, If a hunter gets shot with lead shot that penatrates into the muscle tissue the doctors usually just leave it in because there are no adverse affects and they will do more damage trying to dig them out. However, if you get shot with steel shot they have to dig the pellets out one by one because they will rust. Lead poisioning can only occur as a result of ingestion.

"Lead ammunition also poses health risks to people. Lead bullets fragment on impact into minute particles, spreading throughout game meat that people eat. X-ray studies show that hundreds of dust-sized lead particles can contaminate meat more than a foot and a half away from the bullet track. A recent study found that up to 87% of game killed by lead ammunition contains unsafe levels of lead when consumed by pregnant women or children. Nearly ten million hunters, their families, and low-income beneficiaries of venison donations may be at risk."

I remember the anti-hunters making this arguement when States started programs like HUSH to try to negatively affect the perception of hunters helping to feed the hungry.

"A recent study found that up to 87% of game killed by lead ammunition contains unsafe levels of lead when consumed by pregnant women or children."

So now not only can pregnant women or children not eat fish from most of our river systems and lakes due to pollutants like mercury but they can't eat game taken with lead ammunition.

Good thing we have all that safe beef, pork and chicken. I mean with all the growth hormones and antibiotics they have been injected with I feel really safe eating that. Can't switch to being a vegetarian due to pesticides and herbicides and we don't have an all organic market to go to in my area. Man what's a guy to do?

I will guarantee that pesticides, herbicides, growth hormones, and animal antibiotics are more likely to affect you or your kids than lead ammunition.

I guess I'm lucky to still be alive after shooting and eating game harvested with lead ammunition for the last 30+ years. Not to mention all the reloading, trap, skeet and sporting clay shooting I've done. All those lead products I've been exposed to. I wonder how many split shots and other sinkers I used my teeth to close while fishing! :eek: I think tonight when I say my prayers I will thank god that I am still upright. :rolleyes:
 
The greatest threat to wildlife and habitat is US,,period and our lust to develope more land, more malls more fun. It is called "progress". We all are at fault. What can we do? Try to make as small an imprint anymore than we have to, and if we are priveledged enough to own land. Manage it as much as we can to promote nature. I am just glad I was born when I was, and have gotten to see alot of the wild,,much of which is now gone, including the place I was born. Now under malls, resturants and night life. I feel sorry for those born today.
 
I guess I've never seen the appeal of hunting doves in Iowa in the first place...don't vote for that, then you don't have to worry about shot regs changing. Sleep in the bed you make, because there is plenty of viable data on lead poisoning.
 
Follow the money.. More taxes get collected on a $20 purchase than a $5 purchase.. Plus I'm sure they know we are going to go hunting no matter what the cost is..
 
Iowaqdm- Its hard to argue the fact that the lead poisoning in birds of prey happens within 3 days to a week of ingesting the lead and almost all the birds are found within a month after the shotgun season. Eagles sure are not eating fish around here in December and January.During the winter here if there is a roadkilled deer there will be eagles and hawks on it immediately, like vultures in the summer.
 
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