Program Notes from the Feb 22, 2011 Meeting of LKWA
February 22, 2011 at 6:00 pm
Milton Town Hall
- The meeting was called to order at 6:04 pm by Susan Yates, Vice Chair. Introductions were made. Nineteen people were present including the speaker Dave Clausen, 8 members and 11 guests.
- Sightings around the lake: Bale eagles, Common Goldeneye, Rough-legged hawk.
- Minutes for October 26, 2010 and Treasurer’s report deferred to next meeting
- Lake level – Bob Swan reported that the lake level rose about 1 foot in the last week or so.
- Plans are being made to release more beetles in spring to control Purple loosestrife.
- Charges against the carp seiners as reported in the Milton Courier were read:
"The criminal complaint alleges that the two men failed to release and then buried a large number of game fish caught in their net while conducting a commercial seining operation for rough fish such as carp on Lake Koshkonong on Sept. 1 and 2, 2010. The game fish were incidental catches in the nets, most died as a result of remaining in the nets and the dead fish were not reported or disposed of properly."
- The next meeting On March 29 will be at 6:00 pm at the Tallgrass office. The program is to be determined.
- Special note: Susan Yates saw an excellent program on WI PBS Channel 21.2, called “Return of the Wood duck” She has ordered the DVD and we will have a showing some evening, popcorn included.
- Program
Introduction: Dave Clausen is member of the Natural Resources Board. He is also a veterinarian and a hunter. Penny heard him speak at a recent seminar conducted as part of the Natural Resources Board Meeting in January. An entire afternoon was devoted to the topic of "Lead as a Wildlife Conservation Issue". There were presentations by a toxicologist, an official from the Department of Health, and scientists from the International crane Foundation and the USGS National Wildlife Health Center. Dave Clausen's talk was "The Lead Issue as seen by a Veterinarian and Hunter.
Talk by Dr. Clausen:
Human Health Issues:
No amount of lead is safe. There is no debate on this. The body thinks it is calcium, and thus it goes into the bones and usually stays there. It is also taken into fast-growing tissues such as in a fetus. It is a neurotoxin causing brain damage, blindness, elevates blood pressure and had an impact on IQ. The damage is subtle and may not be noticed.
Effects in wildlife:
In birds, besides sudden death there can be reduced hatching success. The effects of lead also may affect behavior so an animal may not be able to avoid predators.
Studies of dead wildlife carcasses turned into the WDNR showed that a significant percentage of birds had dies from lead poisoning:
- 25% of Trumpeter swans found dead (dig deep into vegetation and ingest lead shot or sinkers)
- 30% of dead loons (pick up lead sinkers on fishing tackle))
- 16% of dead Eagles (eat poisoned birds or ingest large game, e.g. deer, with lead fragments). Many eagles apparently killed by cars or electric wires may have been at higher risk for these deaths because of altered behavior cause by lead.
20 million mourning doves killed by hunters. 14 million mourning doves killed by lead poisoning. The lead ammunition in their habitat seems to be “sweet” to them and they probably select FOR it.
There is a significant amount of lead contamination in the meat of animals killed with lead ammunition. He x-rayed 20 of his own venison packages and found 3 with significant amounts of lead – even 18 inches from the entry hole.
He urged hunters to:
- BECOME A PART OF THE SOLUTION.
- LEAD THE WAY. It would be a bad public relations mistake if hunters do not lead the way to ban lead ammunition. Copper ammunition is available and works well.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Yates, Vice-Chair