The federal government is offering cash to hunters who choose to use non-toxic ammunition. The incentive program launched last year and is now expanding to more locations.
Hunters can get up to $100 in rebates if they show receipts for lead-free ammunition and hunt at one of 13 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuges this season. That includes the Camas National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Idaho, specifically for elk hunting.
“We are committed to providing access to quality hunting experiences on national wildlife refuges and supporting the contributions of the hunting community to wildlife conservation,” said Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik in a press release.
Lead bullets shatter on impact, leaving tiny toxic fragments in animal carcasses that scavenging wildlife feed on. Lead poisoning is the top known cause of mortality for critically endangered California condors, accounting for more than half of their deaths between 1992 and 2022.
The Fish and Wildlife Service said the incentive program gives hunters an opportunity to try shooting with ammunition made with a different material, such as copper. Aaron Kindle, an avid hunter in Colorado and the director of sporting advocacy for the National Wildlife Federation, said the transition can take some getting used to.
“It's not just you put a different bullet in, and you go shoot it. You have to go to the range, sight it in, see how your gun acts with it. It might take several different sessions and multiple boxes of ammunition,” he said.
Monetary incentives, Kindle said, can help nudge hunters to make the switch. To him, they are best paired with educational demonstrations that show hunters the effects of using lead bullets.
“Not that long ago, folks didn't know about this, and now a lot of people do,” Kindle said. “The groundswell is happening. It's not something that's going to happen overnight; it’s just another indication that we're moving in the right direction.”
More than half of hunters surveyed in the first year of the pilot said they were more likely to use lead-free ammunition in the future, even without the incentives, according to a Fish and Wildlife Service staff report.
Some conservation groups argue that restrictions or outright bans of lead ammunition are the more effective approaches.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between KUNC, Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
