As a hunter, I am proud of the fact that every time I spend money on my sport I am supporting jobs and conservation across Maine.

It is as a conservationist that I was disappointed to learn that the outgoing director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Dan Ashe, in his final hours at the agency, banned the use of traditional ammunition on federal lands where hunting occurs.

That order takes effect immediately and was put in place without input from Congress, hunters or the public. The ban has far-reaching ramifications for hunting throughout the country. The mandated use of more expensive ammunition will price many hunters out of the market, leading to a decline in jobs and a decline in conservation funding.

Hunters fund conservation through a hunter-backed, 11 percent tax on hunting equipment, including archery equipment, firearms and ammunition. That tax, called Pittman-Robertson dollars, is what funds conservation across the country. Fewer hunters lead to fewer dollars spent on equipment, which leads to fewer dollars for conservation.

The Fish and Wildlife Service director offered no scientific evidence to substantiate that a complete ban on traditional ammunition is necessary to protect birds or other wildlife against an ongoing risk caused by lead ammunition.

Tactics often used by the anti-hunting lobby are not sound approaches for wildlife management. This order harms both habitat and wildlife.

For the sake of hunters and wildlife across Maine, I hope that the new administration rescinds that damaging order.

Don Kleiner, Union

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