A federal court ruled yesterday a lawsuit over lead ammunition on the Kaibab National Forest will be allowed to continue.
Environmental groups filed the lawsuit in 2012. They requested the U.S. Forest Service ban lead ammunition in the habitat range of the endangered California condor. The suit was dismissed by a lower court in 2013.
Now, a federal appeals court says the case can continue. It’s been remanded to the lower court for a decision.
About 75 California condors live on the Kaibab and wider Grand Canyon region. Data points to lead poisoning as the leading cause of death. The Arizona Game and Fish Department has a voluntary program for reducing lead ammunition in condor habitat, which includes free copper bullets for hunters.
Read the court decision here.
