Phoenix, Arizona:  Responding to court papers filed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) in opposition to legal claims brought by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), on Friday June 4, 2010 CBD revised its lawsuit against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (BLM, FWS) regarding  BLM and FWS’ management of federal lands in northern Arizona (Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Bureau of Land Mgmt, et al., 3:09-cv-08011-PCT-PGR).

CBD’s original lawsuit, first filed January 27, 2009 [Read original Complaint here], alleged that BLM and FWS are illegally mismanaging federal lands in Arizona.

CBD’s claims were based in part on an incorrect belief that “any take of [California] condors from the use of lead ammunition would be a per se violation of the ESA.” [Read First Amended Complaint here] CBD’s revised lawsuit drops the ESA claims that CBD was primarily using to seek a ban on the use of lead ammunition for hunting on those federal lands. [Read Second Amended Complaint here]

Although several legal theories under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) that could be used by CBD to try to ban the use of lead ammunition for hunting remain in the lawsuit, CBD is drastically backing off from the stronger ESA based legal theories that it typically employs in its frequent lawsuits against hunting and hunters. CBD’s retreat is a result of NRA intervening in the case. On April 28, 2010, NRA filed court papers detailing how a 1996 federal law protects hunting with lead ammunition in Arizona despite the California condor being “reintroduced” to Arizona that year.[Read NRA's Motion Here] On May 18, 2010, the federal court in Phoenix granted NRA “full intervention” to contest the claims in CBD’s lawsuit that implicated hunting and condors. Ten days later, CBD dropped its condor-related claims brought under ESA.    

CBD contends that California condors in Arizona and elsewhere are becoming ill or dying as a result of eating lead in scavenged game after being shot by hunters with lead shot or bullets.  Thousands of documents collected by NRA through public records act requests over the last year dispute that claim and the faulty science it is based on, and plainly show that California condors were reintroduced to Arizona based in large part on express promises by FWS and other agencies that the “reintroduction” would not impact hunting.  

Because CBD has stated on the record that it “doesn’t make any apologies about” its “goal to ban lead ammunition[,]” the lead ammunition component of CBD’s lawsuit is likely to resurface in a different form or a different lawsuit. So the issue remains to be litigated. But NRA has at least been partially successful in getting CBD to back away from its most commonly used ESA based claims attacking hunters using lead ammunition.

The lawsuit is just one example of NRA’s efforts on behalf of hunters throughout the country. NRA will remain vigilant in fighting against CBD’s lead ban initiatives in this and other lawsuits, as well as in legislatures throughout the country.

#CGL#