 Arizona hunters have proven their long-held commitment to wildlife conservation by voluntarily working to reduce the amount of lead exposure to endangered California condors, and the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) is encouraging all hunters to join the effort this fall.
Hunters drawn for hunts in Game Management Units 12A and 12B (Kaibab Plateau) are eligible to participate in the department’s lead-free ammunition program. Information about the program was mailed to those who drew hunt tags for the selected units. For more information, email condor@azgfd.gov
AZGFD would like to remind 12A and 12B hunters to redeem their lead-free ammunition coupons for their upcoming hunts before it’s too late! Hunters are also encouraged to prepare for their hunts by checking alerts and fire danger status on the North Kaibab National Forest website. The Forest has been working to open access to more hunting areas impacted by the Dragon Bravo Fire.
Since 2008, over 80 percent of hunters in Arizona’s condor range have voluntarily participated in the lead reduction program. Hunters are encouraged to either make the switch to lead-free ammunition or, if using lead-based ammunition, remove harvested animals, in their entirety, from the field.
“Hunters are really stepping up," said Erin Brown, AZGFD lead reduction program coordinator. “Last season 84 percent of successful hunters in GMU 12A and 12B chose to participate in the program. Whether they used lead-free ammunition or removed the lead-laden carcass, it’s exciting to see so many hunters committed to condor recovery in Arizona.”
Hunters using lead-based ammunition who remove their gut piles are eligible to be entered into a prize drawing, including an elk hunt on the Navajo Nation and Sportsman's Warehouse gift cards, that have been generously donated by our wildlife conservation partners.
“We want hunters to make an informed choice for their own hunt," said Brown. “That’s why it’s important to educate people about the ways they make a difference in reducing lead exposures to all scavenging wildlife.”
Lead poisoning has been identified as the leading cause of diagnosed death in endangered condors and the main obstacle to a self-sustaining population in northern Arizona and southern Utah.
Studies suggest that lead shot and bullet fragments found in animal carcasses and gut piles are the most likely source of lead exposure. Many hunters do not realize that the carcass or gut pile they leave in the field usually contains lead bullet fragments. Gut piles from animals harvested with lead-free ammunition provide an important food source for the condors and should be left in the field.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, which coordinates condor management with AZGFD, has also implemented a lead-reduction program in southern Utah. As the condor population has become more established, the birds have increased their foraging area and now use southern Utah heavily during the fall hunting season.
Information on lead-free ammunition and how hunters can help is sent by mail to those drawn for hunts in condor range. For more information on condors and lead visit www.azgfd.gov/condor.
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