I just got the following NRA-ILA Alert:
National Park Service Calls For Lead Ammo Ban: The National Park Service (NPS) has announced its intention to ban traditional ammunition containing lead in all its parks. The move would needlessly push hunters to use more costly bullets made of tungsten, copper, and steel. The restrictions, set to take effect by the end of 2010, were announced without regard to science and without soliciting feedback from sportsmens' groups.
It's doesn't look like a hoax. Here's the NPS link:
http://home.nps.gov/applications/release/Detail.cfm?ID=855They have already made the decision, without any public input. With the stroke of a bureaucrat's pen, traditional muzzleloading and hunting with a Sharps or old Winchester will soon be illegal, and for no good reason. Here's a sample of the letters I sent my congressional delegation:
Honorable Senator Murkowski:
I just learned that the National Park Service has decided to ban the use of lead ammunition and fishing tackle in parks by the end of 2010. This decision has occurred without any public input or any scientific evidence that lead bullets or fishing sinkers pose a significant threat to any park's environment. This is really a backdoor anti-hunting/gun control exercise.
http://home.nps.gov/applications/release/Detail.cfm?ID=855A lead ammunition ban will necessitate the use of very expensive ammunition, if it is even widely available by 2010. So-called non-toxic ammunition has not been developed yet for many hunting calibers, and the price may put it out of the reach of many subsistence hunters. A lead ban will also prevent sportsmen from using many hunting weapons, such as traditional black powder muzzleloaders and antique or replica rifles that don't or shouldn't be used with jacketed bullets.
As you may be familiar with, many of the "bear stopping" bullets used in Alaska and elsewhere are cast of hard lead alloy, and these will now be made illegal by the stroke of a pen. With so much National Park Service land in Alaska affected, shouldn't you have a say in this matter. The Park Service shouldn't be permitted to enforce this decision until they have given scientific proof there is a nationwide problem that mandates it and there has been adequate public input. Is there any recourse?
Sincerely,