Lead Free Forests Act of 2024

(1) There are no defined safe levels of lead intake in humans, and the toxic effects of lead are numerous and largely irreversible. Lead has been banned from gasoline, paints, and various household items in most developed countries, while lead ammunition is still widely used for hunting and shooting in the United States.

(2) Poisoning from spent lead ammunition puts the health of raptors, scavengers, and other animals at risk. Lead contamination of carcasses remains a particularly serious threat to the health and sustainability of scavenging birds, many of whom are killed each year after ingesting lead from spent ammunition.

(3) People who frequently consume hunted animals shot with lead ammunition are at risk of high dietary lead exposure.

(4) The adverse effects of lead on children’s intellectual capacity are well established, especially the decline in IQ and loss of cognitive skills.

(5) Used lead ammunition can take over 100 years to disappear from the environment, allowing for large concentrations of lead in areas where hunting is common.

(6) Discarded lead shot pellets left to accumulate in the environment will ultimately be deposited as particles in soil and water, where uptake of this lead by plants and animals can occur.

(7) United States National Forests provide important habitats to countless species. People from across the country and the world come to National Forests to appreciate wildlife, through hunting and watching wildlife.

Except as provided in subsection (c), and not later than 1 year after enactment, the Secretary, acting through the Chief, shall issue final regulations prohibiting the discharge of any firearm using ammunition other than nonlead ammunition certified under subsection (b) on all lands and waters under the jurisdiction and control of the Forest Service.

The Chief shall, for the purposes of enforcing this section and in consultation with State and Tribal governments, establish and annually update a list of nonlead ammunition.

The Chief shall make the list established and updated under paragraph (1) publicly available on the website of the Forest Service.

The prohibition under subsection (a) shall not apply to—

(1) a Government official or agent carrying out a statutory duty unrelated to the management of wildlife;

(2) a State, local, Tribal, or Federal law enforcement officer or the agent of such officer when carrying out a statutory duty unrelated to the management of wildlife; or

(3) an active member of the United States military when carrying out official duties.

A person that knowingly violates subsection (a)—

(1) for the first violation, may be assessed a fine by the Secretary of not more than $500; and

(2) for a second or subsequent violation, shall be assessed a fine by the Secretary of not less than $1,000 and not more than $5,000.

In this section:

The term ammunition means any bullet, ball, sabot, slug, buckshot, shot, pellet, or other projectile that is expelled from a firearm through a barrel by force.

The term Chief means the Chief of the Forest Service.

The term explosive has the meaning given such term in section 844 of title 18, United States Code.

The term firearm means any weapon which expels ammunition by the action of an explosive or compressed air.

The term nonlead ammunition means ammunition in which there is no lead content, excluding the presence of trace amounts of lead.

The term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture.

The term trace amounts means one percent or less by weight of the total weight of the ammunition.