Ben . . . who's opposing the collection of information? You must've missed my above quote, straight from the MN DNR's Nontoxic Shot Advisory Committee, in which they clearly state that it is "unlikely that conclusive data can ever be obtained due to the cost of this type of research."

And from the Montana document, posted above: "Lead presence and accumulation under extremely low levels of lead shot shell use has not been established as a significant environmental concern."

Regarding your chukar information above . . . how did those chukar die, Ben? Were they found dead, and the lead pellets in their crops and gizzards determined to be the cause of death? Or were they killed by hunters, perhaps as part of some sort of study? If the latter, that reminds me of the study the Iowa DNR did on pheasants and bird flu. They examined 80-odd pheasants killed by hunters and found that something like 20% of them had antibodies to the bird flu. Bad news, right? Bird flu infecting a very high percentage of our pheasant population? No, as the Iowa DNR correctly interpreted it, that was GOOD news. What it meant was that these HEALTHY birds had been exposed to the bird flu, but not only hadn't it killed them . . . they remained quite healthy.

And Ben . . . police ranges prohibiting lead ammunition--please. Totally different situation than lead shot for upland game. I'm the former senior officer of a local Army Reserve Center. OSHA shut down our indoor range because of lead, but it had to do with the fact that the range was improperly ventilated. Far as I know, none of the soldiers were actually eating the lead bullets. And, as a precaution, we had all the full-time Reserve Center employees tested for lead level in their blood, since they're the ones who were in the building the most. No elevated levels of lead found in any of them.

And speaking of shooting the messenger, Ben . . . since it's the MN Nontoxic Shot Advisory Committee to the DNR and Montana FWP that either say there's no evidence of a problem with lead shot for upland birds and there's not likely to be, or that what evidence there is shows that it's not a "significant environmental concern", maybe you ought to be talking to the REAL messengers behind those messages. As the old song goes, Ben . . . it ain't me, babe. I'm just quoting from the MN DNR and MT FWP.