New Interior secretary rides horse to work for first day in office

The day after his confirmation as Donald Trump’s secretary of the interior, the former Montana congressman rode to his new office on Tonto, a roan gelding. Such drilling is banned until 2022 under a moratorium imposed by President Obama, but that decision may be overturned by the Trump administration.

The order, issued a day before Obama left office January 20, was meant to protect birds from lead poisoning.

Zinke also pledged to tackle an estimated $12 billion backlog in maintenance and fix at national parks and stand firm against attempts to sell, give away or transfer federal lands.

The Center for Biological Diversity, for examples, said up to 20 million birds and other animals die of lead poisoning each year from the 100,000 tons of lead left on lands by hunters and fishers, as well as other sports enthusiasts.

Secretary Zinke will have to hit the ground running.

Suckling said Zinke has supported the baiting of grizzly bears, aerial gunning and denning wolves on national wildlife refuges in Alaska.

From an ecologist’s perspective, a hunt doesn’t end with a successful kill.

The lead-poisoned bald eagle was found in a Stanwood backyard. “At the same time, my administration’s goal is to repeal bad regulations and use our natural resources to create jobs and wealth for the American people, and Ryan will explore every possibility for how we can safely and responsibly do that”. According to the World Health Organization, there is no known level of lead exposure that is considered safe.

After concerns about lead contamination first emerged in the 1970s, environmentalists and sportsmen joined forces to address the problem.

“This [phase-out] was a reckless, unilateral overreach that would have devastated the sportsmen’s community”, Chris Cox, executive director of the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement, thanking Zinke. Waterfowl hunters have successfully been using affordable nontoxic shot for more than 25 years. Activists point to California, which is phasing out lead bullets by 2019, as an example of workable policy.

The last-minute Obama ban on lead ammo was criticized by gun rights groups and some Republicans.

The vote was 68-31, The Washington Post reported.

Specifically, the order requires a report of all steps taken to implement a directive issued by President George W. Bush, “Facilitation of Hunting Heritage and Wildlife Conservation”, as well as a description of any barriers or impediments to its full implementation. “Lead-free ammunition has set bench-mark standards for accuracy, lethality, and safety”.