State wants court to dismiss suit that would ban use of lead ammunition

The Arizona Game and Fish Department wants a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit by conservation groups that aims to ban the use of lead ammunition in the Kaibab National Forest. The suit, filed in September against the U.S. Forest Service by the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club and the Grand Canyon Wildlands Council, says that spent lead ammo in the forest can poison condors and other birds there. But state officials have asked the U.S. District Court in Prescott to let them intervene in the suit, calling a ban counterproductive and arguing that the federal government could not enforce a ban anyway. “They’re asking the Forest Service to ban lead when it does not have jurisdiction over the area,” said Lynda Lambert, a spokeswoman with the state game department. “The state is the only one with authority to make changes in hunting regulations.”...more