WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, joined U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and 21 of their Republican colleagues to introduce a bill to prohibit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), from banning the use of traditional lead ammunition and fishing tackle on public lands unless such action is supported by the best available science and state wildlife and fish agencies.
“West Virginia is home to many proud sportsmen who utilize our federal lands for a variety of outdoor recreational activities. We should be taking steps to increase their access, not decrease it,” Ranking Member Capito said. “Those in West Virginia who utilize our federal lands and take advantage of the wonderful opportunities they create can be assured that I will always work to improve their accessibility, and make sure that FWS is held accountable.”
Last spring, FWS entered into settlement negotiations with activist organizations over a lawsuit regarding the use of traditional ammunition and lead on more than 3 million acres of federal land. Senators Capito and Daines led a group of their colleagues in urging FWS Director Martha Williams not to cave in to activists’ calls to restrict the use of lead ammo and tackle on public lands earlier this year.
This bill also comes one week after FWS published a rule that, while expanding access to hunting and fishing at certain wildlife refuges, prohibited the use of lead ammunition and fishing tackle.
Joining Senators Capito and Daines on the legislation are Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.).