I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8169 

To require the Secretary of Agriculture to prohibit the use of lead ammunition 

on all lands and waters under the jurisdiction and control of the Forest 

Service, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 30, 2024 

Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania (for herself and Mr. LIEU) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition 

to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Agriculture to prohibit the use 

of lead ammunition on all lands and waters under the 

jurisdiction and control of the Forest Service, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lead Free Forests Act 

5 of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) There are no defined safe levels of lead in2 take in humans, and the toxic effects of lead are nu3 merous and largely irreversible. Lead has been 

4 banned from gasoline, paints, and various household 

5 items in most developed countries, while lead ammu6 nition is still widely used for hunting and shooting 

7 in the United States. 

8 (2) Poisoning from spent lead ammunition puts 

9 the health of raptors, scavengers, and other animals 

10 at risk. Lead contamination of carcasses remains a 

11 particularly serious threat to the health and sustain12 ability of scavenging birds, many of whom are killed 

13 each year after ingesting lead from spent ammuni14 tion. 

15 (3) People who frequently consume hunted ani16 mals shot with lead ammunition are at risk of high 

17 dietary lead exposure. 

18 (4) The adverse effects of lead on children’s in19 tellectual capacity are well established, especially the 

20 decline in IQ and loss of cognitive skills. 

21 (5) Used lead ammunition can take over 100 

22 years to disappear from the environment, allowing 

23 for large concentrations of lead in areas where hunt24 ing is common. 


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1 (6) Discarded lead shot pellets left to accumu2 late in the environment will ultimately be deposited 

3 as particles in soil and water, where uptake of this 

4 lead by plants and animals can occur. 

5 (7) United States National Forests provide im6 portant habitats to countless species. People from 

7 across the country and the world come to National 

8 Forests to appreciate wildlife, through hunting and 

9 watching wildlife. 

10 SEC. 3. NONTOXIC AMMUNITION. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

12 (c), and not later than 1 year after enactment, the Sec13 retary, acting through the Chief, shall issue final regula14 tions prohibiting the discharge of any firearm using am15 munition other than nonlead ammunition certified under 

16 subsection (b) on all lands and waters under the jurisdic17 tion and control of the Forest Service. 

18 (b) CERTIFICATION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief shall, for the pur20 poses of enforcing this section and in consultation 

21 with State and Tribal governments, establish and 

22 annually update a list of nonlead ammunition. 

23 (2) PUBLICATION.—The Chief shall make the 

24 list established and updated under paragraph (1) 


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1 publicly available on the website of the Forest Serv2 ice. 

3 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—The prohibition under subsection 

4 (a) shall not apply to— 

5 (1) a Government official or agent carrying out 

6 a statutory duty unrelated to the management of 

7 wildlife; 

8 (2) a State, local, Tribal, or Federal law en9 forcement officer or the agent of such officer when 

10 carrying out a statutory duty unrelated to the man11 agement of wildlife; or 

12 (3) an active member of the United States mili13 tary when carrying out official duties. 

14 (d) PENALTIES.—A person that knowingly violates 

15 subsection (a)— 

16 (1) for the first violation, may be assessed a 

17 fine by the Secretary of not more than $500; and 

18 (2) for a second or subsequent violation, shall 

19 be assessed a fine by the Secretary of not less than 

20 $1,000 and not more than $5,000. 

21 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) AMMUNITION.—The term ‘‘ammunition’’ 

23 means any bullet, ball, sabot, slug, buckshot, shot, 

24 pellet, or other projectile that is expelled from a fire25 arm through a barrel by force. 


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1 (2) CHIEF.—The term ‘‘Chief’’ means the Chief 

2 of the Forest Service. 

3 (3) EXPLOSIVE.—The term ‘‘explosive’’ has the 

4 meaning given such term in section 844 of title 18, 

5 United States Code. 

6 (4) FIREARM.—The term ‘‘firearm’’ means any 

7 weapon which expels ammunition by the action of an 

8 explosive or compressed air. 

9 (5) NONLEAD AMMUNITION.—The term 

10 ‘‘nonlead ammunition’’ means ammunition in which 

11 there is no lead content, excluding the presence of 

12 trace amounts of lead. 

13 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

15 (7) TRACE AMOUNTS.—The term ‘‘trace 

16 amounts’’ means one percent or less by weight of the 

17 total weight of the ammunition. 

Æ 


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