Yurok tribe wildlife technician Tiana Williams said she never knew how unhealthy lead bullets could be for humans until she found out how much the bullets shatter when they pierce game.
Williams, who is also a hunter, saw X-ray images of how lead disperses in prey and felt it was not in line with the holistic lifestyle she was raised in. The lead ends up being consumed by hunters or absorbed into the environment.
”It's a lot more effective and a lot easier than a bow and arrow, I'll tell you, but it comes with consequences,” Williams said about hunting with guns.
In its efforts to reintroduce the California condor to the North Coast, the tribe is launching a hunter education program to promote the use of non-lead bullets.
The tribe, in partnership with the Arcata-based Institute for Wildlife Studies, will be holding gun range demonstrations throughout the county. While other areas have pushed for legal bans on lead bullets, the tribe is taking an educational approach in hopes of mimicking the success of projects in Arizona. The first event is scheduled for Aug. 20 at the Redwood Gun Club.
”We're not going to tell anyone what they can and can't do, we're going to let folks know what the facts are, what the wildlife conservation concerns are, and let the hunters make the decision on their own,” the tribe's senior wildlife biologist Chris West said.
Once prominent, California condor populations were dwindling by the early 1900s as the long-lived, slow-maturing birds were being poisoned, hunted, captured and driven from the area. The last confirmed sighting on the North Coast was between 1890 and 1914, and the bird, now stuffed, is currently housed in the Clarke Museum. The condor is an important figure in the Yurok culture, and its feathers are prominently used in regalia for traditional dances.
West, also an avid hunter, said lead bullets are popular because they are inexpensive and traditional. While they make effective projectiles, they can do more damage than just kill prey. West said while the vultures the tribe has been capturing to test for data have shown low levels of lead, there are other indications of an abundance of lead on the North Coast.
The biologists have been testing the bodies of marine mammals that have washed up on shore for levels of lead. Because they have blubber, toxins are more prevalent in their bodies.
Additionally, animals who are hit but not killed by lead bullets end up carrying around the particles. If hunters eat the meat of that prey, they could be ingesting unhealthy amounts of lead.
”It could be so small you don't even notice,” Williams said about the lead particles. “I had never really considered amplification, but once I saw those images, I was completely convinced and switched to non-lead bullets.”
As a former hunter, Redwood Gun Club President Ron Pulitano said he agrees with the sentiment. The gun club sees the demonstrations as a way as a public service and a way to contribute to conservation efforts.
”As a hunter, I was also a conservationist -- they go hand in hand,” he said. “The protection of game animals ensures your success as a hunter.”
At the demonstrations, hunters can see the accuracy of non-lead bullets versus lead bullets, as well as see the fracturing of lead bullets using a special gel that will mimic flesh. West said hunters can also trade in their lead bullets for non-lead bullets for .22 long rifle rounds to .338 hunting rounds. The tribe is still looking for other locations to hold similar events.
Funding for the outreach comes from the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services, while the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife continues to fund other factions of the project.
”This isn't just a conservationist, environmentalist's bird-hugger movement,” West said. “These are really just people that are really dedicated to the conservation process. We understand the ecosystem and we understand the hunting culture -- we need hunters out there.”
For more information, call the tribe at 482-1350.
Donna Tam can be reached at 441-0532 or dtam@times-standard.com.