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Responding to a petition received on October 18, 2021, from Friends of Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas, requesting that the state ban the use of lead shot and bullets and lead fishing tackle in Scientific and Natural Areas (SNAs) and Minnesota State Parks, the DNR announced it would allow the ban of nontoxic lead ammunition and fishing tackle in 57 SNAs.
In issuing its ruling, the DNR stated, “To completely ban the use of lead or other toxic ammunition and tackle on all SNAs and State Park lands necessitates statute or rule changes that warrant a comprehensive exploration of the full spectrum of such change.”
The new rule will be included in the Minnesota Hunting & Trapping Regulations pamphlet that will come out this August.
While the DNR didn’t fully grant the request by Friends of Minnesota Scientific and Natural Areas and their more than 20 petition co-signers, the DNR did state that it will “continue efforts to encourage the use of nontoxic fishing tackle. The DNR supports the work that is underway through the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s “Get the Lead Out” program. We also sell and encourage the use of nontoxic tackle at all Minnesota State Parks.”
Minnesota’s Scientific & Natural Areas are defined as areas that include “native plant communities, rare species, and geological features; where rare species are protected; and where we can know, and study, Minnesota’s fascinating natural features.”
In Cook County, the 720-acre Lutsen SNA was included in the list of 57 issued by DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen on June 27. In all, Minnesota has 169 SNAs.
The push to ban lead shot and lead fishing tackle is over 30 years old. According to wildlife researchers, lead tastes and smells sweet to birds, and if ingested, the heavy metal toxicity can affect the blood, nervous and gastronomical system and can be fatal if not treated. In animals, lead toxicity can cause blindness, muscle twitches, unresponsiveness, and circling and lead to death.
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