After failing to get lead banned in hunting and shooting sports the same people are looking to have lead banned in many types of fishing tackle.
Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was petitioned by the Center for Biological Diversity and two other anti-fishing groups, requesting that the agency regulate the manufacture and sale of lead fishing tackle of certain sizes and uses under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). If approved, such regulation could result in a ban of lead sinkers, jigs and other popular types of fishing equipment.
This comes on the heels of a similar petition that the EPA dismissed in November 2010. The original petition also sought to ban lead hunting and shooting ammunition, which is exempted from regulation under TSCA.
In dismissing the original petition, the EPA said the “petitioners have not demonstrated that the requested rule is necessary to protect against an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, as required by the TSCA.”
“The sportfishing community is once again asking the EPA to rule on the side of scientific fish and wildlife population management and dismiss this unwarranted petition,” said American Sportfishing Association Vice President Gordon Robertson. “Such regulations will have a significant, negative impact on recreational anglers and the sportfishing industry, yet the petitioners lack credible science to back such a far-reaching request. They claim lead is threatening loons across the nation, but several studies, including one by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have shown that loon populations are either stable or increasing throughout most of their range.”
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A picture is worth a thousand words. This couldn’t be truer with the release of Boone and Crockett Club’s newest book on the history of big-game hunting featuring page after page of remarkable photographs of our hunting heritage dating to the late 1800s. Details that only a sportsmen would notice such as vintage firearms, custom knives, old-school hunting gear, and classic cars abound throughout this album.
Boone and Crockett Club’s Vintage Hunting Album is a gem of a book that is ideal for a stocking stuffer for hunters and outdoorsmen.
It’s available at $29.95, but there is also a deluxe limited edition (just 25 copies) in a custom slipcase for $250. To obtain a copy, call (406) 542-1888 during business hours. More information can found at their web site http://www.booneandcrockettclub.com
ken.moran@nypost.com