TERENCE CHEA
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO - A coalition of environmentalists, hunters and American Indians sued state wildlife regulators Thursday for allowing lead ammunition to poison endangered California condors.
The lawsuit alleges that the state Fish and Game Commission and Department of Fish and Game has allowed hunters to use lead bullets in areas where condors scavenge the carcasses of hunted animals.
The complaint was filed in federal court in Los Angeles by the Center for Biological Diversity, Natural Resources Defense Council, Physicians for Social Responsibility and Wishtoyo Foundation, an American Indian organization in Central California.
"If this continues, it's going to have a grave impact on the condors," said Mati Waiya, the foundation's executive director and a leader of the Chumash Indian tribe in Ventura County. "It's impacting the tradition of an ancient people that have had a relationship with the condor for 10,000 years."
Steve Martarano, a spokesman for the Department of Fish and Game, said the commission has been encouraging hunters to use non-lead ammunition and considering changes to state hunting regulations that could be approved next spring.
"This issue has been of concern to the department for quite some time," Martarano said. "We're disappointed that they filed it at this time."
The plaintiffs said they filed suit to force the state to require the use of non-lead bullets made of copper and other materials where they're available. The same groups filed a petition urging state regulators to take action nearly three years ago.
The California condor, which lives in the state's central and southern mountains, is one of the world's largest flying birds with wingspans up to 10 feet long.
The species was declared endangered by the federal government in 1967 and by the state in 1971. The last 22 wild condors were trapped in 1982 for a captive breeding program.
The government started releasing them into the wild in 1992, and there are now 138 condors flying free in the U.S., including 61 in California, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Scientists blame lead poisoning for killing as many as 46 of the 127 birds released in California, and lead ammunition poses a health risk to hunters and others who eat game, according to the lawsuit.
