As a professional environmental policy analyst, I have to call bull crap on this one. The quotes in the article used the word "may cause" and not a single "have been proven to cause". This is another freaking example of extremist wildlife biologists going WAAAYYYYYY over the top. In wildlife biology school, don't they teach statistics? Don't they examine probability? Don't they research cause and effect relationships? This crap just drives me completely nuts.
Just applying a couple of examples from my own hunting experiences to this scenario. In my life, I've killed 15 deer, two elk, one pronghorn and one bear. I've shot all of them with a 30-06. Of those 19 animals killed, 14 deer were 1-shot kills, 1 a two- shot. The elk were two shots each. Three hits on the pronghorn, and one shot one bear. So that comes out at 24 hits where there is potential to have a bullet somewhere in the animal. Of the 16 bullets that hit deer, 14 were complete pass throughs, and the other two were recovered - so far - no bullets for a condor to eat. Four hits on elk - two pass throughs, two recovered bullets - no bullets. Three pronghorn hits - two pass throughs - one bullet recovered. Bear - pass through. So in my lifetime of hunting thus far, no bullets have remained in the gut piles. I don't use some super hyped up magnums either - factory loaded 30-06. But assuming I didn't recover the bullets I did - 5 in total. Then figure they are in the gut pile somewhere. What are the chances a condor will fly by, and then once more, what are the chances it will consume the lead bullet? And if it does, I can tell you that lead poisoning won't do it in - it will be the shrapnel going down the gullet and through the digestive system. And that problem won't be solved by banning lead bullets!
This is such a load of biostitution (that's prostitution disguised as biology) I cannot believe it. I'm not a huge beliver in the vast conspiracy of liberals out there trying to take away my bullets, guns, and meat on the bbq, but this stinks of extreme "junk science" driven by some special interested wildlife biostitute in a cube somewhere with no concept of the real freaking world. This is garbage. If Utah's DWR caves on this one, it shows they are a bunch of absolute wuss dogs who have no clue or care about reality in their chosen science. Paaallleeezzzzz.
The scary part on this one if your keeping score folks, is that the condors don't stick around Zion. They have followed the Colorado River drainage all the way to Flaming Gorge, and have been officially sighted and tracked from Zion to the Gorge. That includes areas like the Henry's, Book Cliffs, Pausegaunt, and Diamond Mountain. Sound like some of the best deer units in the State? This is some scary stuff here folks.