NRA and Republicans want to be able to go on killing condors

"Another Shot in Ammo Battle: State Fish and Game Commission Member Quits, Citing Pressure Over Condor Protection.

By Matt Weiser, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.

Sep. 14--A growing political battle over restricting lead hunting ammunition claimed a high-profile victim Thursday with the resignation of R. Judd Hanna from the California Fish and Game Commission.

Hanna submitted his resignation to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday morning. In an e-mail to supporters, obtained by The Bee, Hanna said he was told to leave by the Schwarzenegger administration following pressure from the National Rifle Association.

The commission has been debating whether to restrict lead hunting ammunition to protect the endangered California condor and other wildlife. The NRA has been a leading opponent, claiming such limits could prevent some people from hunting and open the door to additional ammo restrictions.

The Bee reported Thursday that 34 Republican legislators wrote Schwarzenegger on Monday, urging him to remove Hanna from the commission. They claim he was "not being impartial" in the ammo debate.

"It's not about me, it's about the condor and it's about the NRA hijacking the system," Hanna, 66, told The Bee on Thursday in a telephone interview. "And it's a shame because I'm not only a hunter, I'm a Republican."

Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear would not say whether Hanna was asked to resign. The administration, he said, does not comment on personnel matters. But he did respond to the NRA accusation.

"In general, I can tell you the NRA and any other group never has any undue influence on the governor," McLear said. "He always leads and makes decisions based on principle."

NRA officials in California did not respond to several requests for comment.

Commissioners serve at the governor's pleasure and can be removed at any time.

Hanna, a Tehama County farmer, was appointed to a six-year term on the commission by Schwarzenegger in February. He is a retired Navy pilot, Vietnam War veteran, duck hunter, fisherman and former real estate developer. He also serves on the board of the California Wildlife Foundation and the Lassen Park Foundation. He also contributed to Schwarzenegger's 2006 campaign.

But Republicans didn't like the way Hanna did his own research on the lead ammo issue. In their letter to the governor, legislators complained that he distributed a 167-page document on the subject to other commissioners at an Aug. 27 meeting, and that his notes on the document suggest he decided to support restrictions.

In the e-mail obtained by The Bee, Hanna said he was simply following guidance given to the commission by its attorney. That advice, he said, obligated commissioners to share any information that contributes to their decision-making process.

"I have done a thorough job and listened respectfully to all sides," Hanna wrote. "The evidence is overwhelming. Lead from ammunition is the primary cause of illness and death in the ... California condor."

Bullets and shotgun pellets made of lead are believed to be responsible for poisoning and killing numerous rare California condors. Birds ingest the projectiles when they feed on carcasses and entrails left behind or lost by hunters.

In July, 45 leading condor scientists and toxicologists signed a statement asserting that a "robust chain of evidence" indicates lead ammunition poisons condors.

But the NRA and a few other hunting groups believe the evidence isn't clear. They think the lead that is poisoning condors could be coming from garbage the scavengers also eat, or from the environment.

Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, said Hanna's departure emphasizes why legislation is often needed to protect wildlife in California.

Nava is the author of Assembly Bill 821, the Ridley-Tree Condor Preservation Act, which would restrict lead ammunition in specific areas of condor habitat. It awaits the governor's signature.

"The future of this endangered species is much too important to be left in the hands of a politicized agency, as this clearly is," Nava said. "The signal that it sends to the Fish and Game commissioners is that if they support a reasonable restriction on lead ammunition, their job is in jeopardy."

Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Temecula, wrote the letter to the governor that was signed by 33 other Republicans in the Legislature. He did not respond to calls for comment from The Bee. Sen. Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield, also did not respond to a request for comment. His district includes much of the condor's habitat.

Attempts to reach other members of the Fish and Game Commission also were unsuccessful."


Do you want to back lead bullets or save California condors? The political power of the NRA is really damn scary when they can force a concerned environmentalist out of office.