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Bill Introduced to Ban Lead Shot on State Wildlife Areas
Once again animal rights minority groups including HSUS, disregard science to promote their own twisted agenda – AmmoLand.com

California Outdoor Heritage Alliance

Sacramento, CA --(AmmoLand.com)- Assembly Member Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara) has introduced AB 2223, legislation which would prohibit the use of lead shot on state Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) operated by the Department of Fish and Game (DFG). Violators of the bill’s provisions would be subject to a $500 fine on the first offense.

The bill would not only undermine the Constitutional authority of the California Fish and Game Commission–the regulatory body tasked with determining the precise methods of take for hunting and the specific public use regulations for each WMA–but also remove any meaningful scientific review and analysis of the effects of lead shot by providing an exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

In doing so, the measure ensures that politics, rather than sound science, dictates the state’s hunting regulations and management of wildlife.

According to proponents, the bill is intended to reduce alleged lead shot-induced mortality to mourning doves (the most populous game bird in North America) as well as to raptors that feed on doves and other small game. Yet, only a portion of the WMAs across the state provide significant dove hunting opportunity, and fields that are heavily hunted for dove are typically disked on an annual basis by DFG so as to make most lead pellets unavailable to wildlife.

In addition, raptor populations on WMA’s remain at very high levels, while there has reportedly been no documented incidents of raptors succumbing to lead shot poisoning.

“I’ve hunted two dozen WMAs across the state for just about every upland game bird and small game species, and the one thing you notice is that each area is unique in terms of species, topography, management practices and degree of hunter pressure,” stated Mark Hennelly, Vice President of COHA.

“AB 2223 wrongly mandates a ‘one-size fits all’ approach without a single WMA-specific study demonstrating significant impacts from the ongoing use of lead shot on wildlife.”

“These issues should be decided by the state’s wildlife management professionals on a case by case basis,” said Evan Heusinkveld, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) director of state services. “Science, not politics or public opinion, should be the basis for these decisions.”

AB 2223 is sponsored by the Audubon Society, Defenders of Wildlife and Humane Society of the United States. The first hearing will likely be in the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee in early April. For the Committee’s contact information to voice opposition to the bill, click here..

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Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area Five-Year Management Plan Open For Review
Public comments sought; comments accepted through April 2.

Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks

GREAT BEND – -(AmmoLand.com)- A draft 2010-2014 Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area five-year management plan is now available for public review and comment.

In 1990, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks developed 25-year management plans for all public lands. In the case of Cheyenne Bottoms, public input was solicited at two public meetings, one in Great Bend and the other in Topeka.

But in an effort to be more responsive to changing conditions and needs, five-year plans were adopted in 2005. This is the second such plan developed to manage this area, and public input is sought.

The primary management goal of Cheyenne Bottoms over the next five years, as in the past, is to provide diverse marsh habitat for waterfowl and shorebirds during their migratory periods.

Two secondary goals are to provide public recreational opportunities to enjoy wildlife using the area — provided these activities do not conflict with the other management goals — and to increase production of waterfowl and shorebirds that nest on the area. Both the primary and secondary goals will enhance the management of threatened and endangered species and a wide variety of resident wildlife.

More specifically, the area’s management plan does not address daily management activities but is intended to chart the general direction of property management for the next five years. Some of the issues include silt, water, vegetation, wildlife, and people management; inlet canal maintenance; and habitat diversity. Goals and strategies for each issue are presented in detail in the plan.

The current draft is available for review at the Kansas Wildlife and Parks website, www.kdwp.state.ks.us, under “Today’s Links” or from the Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area page in “Locations.” Comments will be accepted through April 2.

The 19,000-acre area in the middle of the Central Flyway is a haven for migrating birds and annually attracts hunters and bird watchers from across the country. By international agreement, it is has been designated a Wetland of International Importance. For more information or to comment on the five-year plan, phone Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area at 620-793-3066.

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