Common Loon
Birds and Mammals that Depend on the Salish Sea: A Compilation
Loons to be Helped by Fishing Restrictions
Lead fishing sinkers that get lost have been demonstrated to kill loons nesting on many freshwater lakes in Washington State.
Loons winter on the Salish Sea and summer and breed on inland freshwater lakes.
On December 6th the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission announced a restriction on the use of lead fishing tackle at the 13 common loon nesting lakes in Washington.
SeaDoc provided scientific information, including the Wildlife Society's position statement on lead toxicity and wildlife, to the Fish and Wildlife Commission regarding this issue.
This ban should decrease loon deaths due to lead poisoning and is good news!
From the WDFW press release:
The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission approved restrictions on the use of lead fishing tackle at 13 lakes with nesting common loons during its Dec. 2-4 meeting in Olympia.
The commission, a nine-member citizen panel appointed by the governor to set policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), adopted a proposal that prohibits the use of lead weights and jigs that measure 1 ½ inches or less along the longest axis at 12 lakes.
Those 12 lakes include Ferry and Swan lakes in Ferry County; Calligan and Hancock lakes in King County; Bonaparte, Blue and Lost lakes in Okanogan County; Big Meadow, South Skookum and Yocum lakes in Pend Oreille County; Pierre Lake in Stevens County; and Hozomeen Lake in Whatcom County.
In addition, the commission banned the use of flies containing lead at Long Lake in Ferry County.
The restrictions, which take effect May 1, are designed to protect loons from being poisoned by ingesting small lead fishing gear lost by anglers.
Species of concern within the Salish Sea Marine Ecosystem: changes between 2002 and 2008
Species of concern in the Puget Sound Georgia Basin: changes between 2002 and 2006
Bald Eagle De-Listing
On June 28, 2007, the bald eagle was removed from the U.S. list of threatened and endangered species. After nearly disappearing from most of the United States decades ago, wildlife enthusiasts are celebrating the eagle’s recovery. Now that this keystone predator has been restored to historical levels, it will be important to monitor the eagle’s impact on marine birds.
