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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 166 / Tuesday, August 31, 2021 / Rules and Regulations throughout southwest Florida even though hunting and other forms of outdoor recreation have continued to occur as traditional uses across millions of acres, including on both private and public lands. Panthers are one of the most adaptable mammals in the Northern Hemisphere and have home ranges in close proximity to human occupied areas in southwest Florida e.g., Golden Gate Estates. The proposed quota turkey hunts are anticipated to only have minimal to moderate short-term effects on the Florida panther and other Federal trust species. Panther activity may be temporarily altered as a result of human activity. However, any alteration of panther activity is expected to be insignificant.
We did not make any changes to the rule as a result of these comments.
Comment 10: Many commenters expressed concern over the use of lead ammunition and/or lead fishing tackle on refuges and hatcheries. Some commenters objected to these potential sources of lead at a particular refuge or hatchery, and many individual commenters and multiple organizations were concerned about lead nationwide and referred us to various forms of evidence on the subject of lead impacts to human and ecological health. Many of these commenters were supportive of the increased access the Service proposed, but requested the Service not allow lead ammunition or tackle. Some commenters expressed specific concerns about raptor species, including the bald eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus. One commenter stated that the use of lead ammunition would violate the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940 16
U.S.C. 668668c and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act 16 U.S.C. 703 et seq..
Our Response: The Service acknowledges concerns from commenters about the issue of bioavailability of lead in the environment and is aware of the potential impacts of lead on fish and wildlife. See, for example, Nancy Golden, et al., A Review and Assessment of Spent Lead Ammunition and Its Exposure and Effects to Scavenging Birds in the United States, which is available online at https
www.fws.gov/midwest/refuges/
Review%20and%20Assessment%20
paper.pdf. Accordingly, the Service pays special attention to species susceptible to lead uptake and to sources of lead that could impact ecological and human health.
Historically, the principal cause of lead poisoning in waterfowl was the high densities of lead shot in wetland sediments associated with migratory
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bird hunting activities Kendall et al.
1996. In 1991, as a result of high bird mortality, the Service instituted a nationwide ban on the use of lead shot for hunting waterfowl and coots see 50
CFR 32.2k.
Yet, there remains some concern about the bioavailability of spent lead ammunition bullets and fishing tackle on the environment, the health of fish and wildlife, and human health. The Service is aware of fish and wildlife species, including endangered and threatened species, that are susceptible to biomagnification of lead from their food sources or the food eaten by their food sources. There is also evidence that some species are susceptible to direct ingestion of lead ammunition or tackle due to their foraging behaviors. For example, the Service recognizes that ingested lead fishing tackle has been found to be a leading cause of mortality in adult common loons Grade, T. et al., 2017, in Population-level effects of lead fishing tackle on common loons. The Journal of Wildlife Management 821:
pp. 155164. The impacts of lead on human health and safety have been a focus of several scientific studies. We are familiar with studies that have found the ingestion of animals harvested via the use of lead ammunition increased levels of lead in the human body e.g., Buenz, E. 2016.
Lead exposure through eating wild game. American Journal of Medicine, 128: p. 458.
While there are concerns of leads general potential for ecological health impacts, we disagree with commenters that the use of lead ammunition in connection with the particular openings and expansions of hunting and fishing on the refuges and hatchery in this rulemaking will significantly impact the environment or is likely to harm endangered or threatened species. Each refuge and hatchery carefully evaluated possible impacts to the environment, including to endangered and threatened species, as part of the NEPA process. As discussed above, on stations where lead ammunition or tackle is allowed, we found that the number of hunters and anglers using lead ammunition or tackle would result in no more than a negligible increase of lead in the environment. As a result, we found there would be no significant impact to the environment from the use of lead ammunition and/or tackle for the station In addition, every refuge and hatchery looked at the impacts of these new or expanded hunting and fishing opportunities, including the allowance or prohibition of lead, on endangered and threatened species in compliance with requirements under section 7 of
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the ESA. The ESA requires Federal agencies to ensure that the actions they carry out, fund, or authorize do not jeopardize the continued existence of endangered or threatened species listed species. For each station, the Service determined that the proposed action was not likely to adversely affect any listed species, nor jeopardize any listed species. We also determined that the proposed action was not likely to jeopardize any proposed or candidate species for listing as threatened or endangered.
We also disagree with the commenter who asserted that the use of lead ammunition will violate the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940
Eagle Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act MBTA. The potential for lead to threaten any species, including raptors in general and eagles in particular because of their protection under these statutes, is a key part of the NEPA and ESA analyses that are conducted before the authorization of any hunting or fishing on a refuge for which lead ammunition or lead fishing tackle is allowed. This ensures hunting and fishing activities are compliant with these statutes. In fact, the MBTA
explicitly authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to create regulations governing take for all of the migratory bird species covered by the treaty, including eagles 16 U.S.C. 704a. The promulgation of the hunting regulations in this rule under the authority of the Secretary of the Interior means that the Secretary has determined these hunting activities are compatible with the terms of the MBTA
and with the international conventions that are the basis for the MBTA. Thus, the hunting regulations in this rule do not violate the MBTA or the associated treaties.
The Service continues to educate hunters and anglers on the impacts of lead on the environment, and particularly on human health and safety concerns of ingesting animals harvested with lead ammunition. We always encourage hunters and anglers to voluntarily use non-lead ammunition and tackle for all harvest activities. For both ammunition and tackle, alternatives to lead are becoming more widely available and used by hunters and anglers; and despite the traditional view that non-lead ammunition and tackle is more expensive, the costs have become comparable.
We share a strong partnership with the States in managing wildlife and therefore, when determining whether to prohibit the use of lead ammunition or tackle, we have traditionally deferred to State regulations. For example, in California, the use of lead ammunition
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