ASHLAND ­— Just in time for the start of this year’s fishing season, nine Wisconsin non-profit organizations have collaborated to publish free informational cards for anglers. The cards give anglers tips about how to prevent lead poisoning in wildlife.

It takes just one lead sinker to kill an adult loon. Other birds affected by lead include the State Endangered Trumpeter Swan and our national symbol, the Bald Eagle. Luckily, there are alternatives to lead tackle. Instead of using toxic lead sinkers and jigs, anglers can use options made from tin, bismuth, steel, tungsten, or ceramic. Local hazardous waste collection facilities, including seasonal Clean Sweep programs, will accept the old lead tackle and dispose of it properly.

The “Get the Lead Out” cards provide this information and more, and they will be distributed throughout Wisconsin. They are available free of charge from the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative (WBCI) website, www.wisconsinbirds.org/leadpoisoning. Retailers, fishing clubs, organizers of fishing tournaments, lake associations, and concerned members of the public are urged to help share this important message by providing cards to people who fish in our lakes and streams.

Sportsmens’ organizations, lake and bird conservation groups, and educational programs ar working together to encourage people to enjoy fishing without poisoning aquatic birds and other wildlife with lead fishing tackle.

For more information, contact Amber Roth, the LoonWatch coordinator at Northland College’s Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, at (715) 682-1220 or loonwatch@northland.edu, or William Mueller, the issues committee chairman of the WBCI and conservation chairman of the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, at (414) 643-7279 or iltlawas@earthlink.net.

LoonWatch

LoonWatch, a program of the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute of Northland College, was formed in 1978. LoonWatch works to protect the common loon and its aquatic habitat through education, population monitoring, and research. LoonWatch focuses activities in Wisconsin, but its broader regional scope includes Minnesota, Michigan and Ontario.

LoonWatch provides public education by serving as a clearinghouse for loon and lake information, giving educational talks to lake associations and other citizen and school groups, and working with state, county and local agencies and organizations on issues related to lakeshore protection. LoonWatch is also involved in loon protection and education at the national level. For more information about LoonWatch, call (715) 682-1220. Email us at LoonWatch@northland.edu or visit our website at: http://www.northland.edu/loonwatch.

Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute

Since its founding in 1972, the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute has facilitated solutions to environmental problems in the north country through education, research, and citizen involvement. The Institute’s namesake,

Sigurd F. Olson (1899-1982), is one of America’s most beloved nature writers and most influential conservationists of the 20th century. He was an early wolf researcher and helped shape national conservation policy and played an important role in the preservation of many national parks, seashores and wilderness areas, such as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. He is best known as the author of nine books about the North Country. In 1974 he won the John Burroughs Medal for his book, Wilderness Days. To obtain more information about the Institute, call (715) 682-1223 or visit our website at: http://www.northland.edu/soei.

Useful Links:

LoonWatch

Northland College's Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute

Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative

• Lakeview design prevents infections from spreading , 8/10/2010
• Five artists honored at festival , 8/9/2010
• St. Mary's, Miller-Dwan Auxiliaries Award Scholarships , 8/6/2010
• Hayward Nursery to Continue Production This Year , 8/6/2010
• President Obama congratulates UMD math student UMD, 8/3/2010