Summary

Prohibits the Department of the Interior (through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and BLM) and the Department of Agriculture (through the Forest Service) from banning or otherwise regulating the use of lead ammunition or lead fishing tackle on federal lands and waters made available for hunting or fishing. The bill also bars those agencies from setting allowable lead levels for ammunition or tackle, while allowing narrowly tailored, unit-specific prohibitions or regulations when local field data show wildlife declines caused by lead and the action is consistent with or approved by the relevant state fish and wildlife authority; the agency must publish an explanation in the Federal Register for any such unit-specific action.

Key Points

• Blocks Interior and Agriculture agencies from banning lead ammunition or lead fishing tackle on federal lands and waters used for hunting or fishing.
• Bars those agencies from setting regulatory lead-level limits for ammunition or tackle on such federal lands and waters.
• Allows narrow, unit-specific prohibitions or regulations only when local field data show wildlife declines primarily caused by lead and the action is consistent with or approved by the state agency.
• Requires the agency to publish a Federal Register explanation when it imposes a unit-specific ban or regulation meeting the exception criteria.
• Does not provide funding, create new programs, or add enforcement mechanisms.
• Applies only to federal lands/waters made available for hunting or fishing; private and state lands are unaffected by the federal prohibition.
• References existing Code of Federal Regulations provisions and limits agency authority consistent with those rules.
• Does not mandate or promote non-lead alternatives or compensatory measures for users or industry.

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