There is, but it only applies to small weights in certain waters. No ban at all in Oregon.
And frankly, that is following the science. The danger to the environment and to wildlife is from ingested lead, interacting with stomach acid, not lead sitting on the bottom of a lake or river (which is virtually inert).
Edit: I realized after re-reading this that I left in some unintentional ambiguity. The Washington regulation, that bans small lead weights but allows large ones that can’t be swallowed by wildlife, is following the science. Oregon’s lack of ban for any size lead is not scientific at all.
Lead shot is still a leading cause of death for eagles, but in fact is on the wane. Eagles have been making a huge comeback for several decades now. There are nearly 700 known nests in Missouri now, and a total population of 316,700 eagles in the USA as of 2021, and 71,467 occupied nests.
The main causes of death for eagles are illegal shooting, habitat loss, powerline electrocutions, vehicle collisions, wind turbines, disease, and oh yeah, lead shot.
The article above claims that at least in Michigan, death from lead poisoning is 8x that from illegal shooting. There is certainly a chance that is wrong or their methodology is flawed, but I’m not sure why you are sure that it is false.
More global issues like habitat loss are also certainly important as they also push eagles into different areas where they may be more likely to fall victim to vehicles or lead poisoning.
My source for the information about eagle deaths is the current issue of the Missouri Conservationist magazine. Things could be different for eagles in Michigan, for all I know
I mean, one national symbol killing another is on brand for a country that was founded in the name of freedom by a bunch of slaveowners who only wanted white male landowners to vote and traded an aristocratic monarchy for an oligarchy of merchants that largely came from the landowning classes.
Having a similar chain of thought to you, conservative politicians will reach a very different conclusion: filter all the water in Flint through a pile of dead eagles.
