A provision in the new funding law blocks any of the money it distributes from being used to “regulate the lead content of ammunition, ammunition components, or fishing tackle” under the Toxic Substances Control Act.
The Union of Concerned Scientists, the American Bird Conservancy and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a nonpartisan group, petitioned the Interior Department in November to ban lead ammunition and fishing tackle from national parks. Lead threatens birds and fish when it enters the food chain, ultimately killing or contaminating wildlife species, they said.