Central California hunters showed a remarkably high level of compliance with a new state law requiring the use of non-lead ammunition in historic condor range, according to a Department of Fish and Game report.
The report, prepared by Central District assistant chief John Baker, will be presented to the Fish and Game Commission today in Sacramento.
Since July 1, when the law took effect, game wardens in three DFG enforcement districts made approximately 6,490 hunting-related contacts. Officers issued nine citations, made 12 ammunition seizures and gave 63 warnings.
Only 28 of the contacted hunters said they were unaware of the regulation change, the report said.
Baker said the overall compliance rate -- about 98% -- was much higher than expected.
"I was amazed at the compliance rate," Baker said. "It tells me we did a pretty good job of getting the word out, and as we hoped the vast majority of hunters in California complied with the law.
"They might not have liked it, but they did the right thing."
Signed into law by Gov. Schwarzenegger, the Ridley-Tree Condor Preservation Act (AB 821) contends that lead fragments from hunters' bullets pose a threat to scavenging condors when ingested.
Areas impacted by the new law include state deer zones D7 and D8, which together encompass Fresno, Madera and Tulare counties east of Highway 99.
Prohibited from using lead ammunition, hunters turned to copper-based bullets and cartridges that generally are more expensive and difficult to find.
In addition to hunter-warden contacts, the Central District office in Fresno logged 225 phone calls and 250 walk-in visits regarding the new law. Only one of the 475 comments was positive in tone, the report said.
Wardens helped spread word about the lead ammunition ban through media interviews, information booths at sports shows and presentations at local hunting and gun clubs.
Hunters found to be in possession of lead bullets were generally let off with a warning unless wardens discovered other violations, Baker said. Two of the nine citations were issued in conjunction with illegal spotlighting.
"The vast majority of the people I personally checked wanted to show me their non-lead bullets," Baker said. "They wanted to show me they were in compliance, and they were rather proud of it."
AB 821 also requires annual testing of California condors to see if lead levels have dropped as a result of the new law, but no results are available.
The last documented condor sighting in zone D7 occurred in 1971 near Balch Camp.
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