Photo Credit: Jordan Hoffmaster
Mike McTee and Vince Slabe are Montana-based researchers who use cutting-edge science, writing, and educational programs to protect eagles in the American West and beyond. Both Mike and Vince are laser-focused on the surprisingly little-known issue of lead poisoning in bald and golden eagles, a problem caused mainly by eagles scavenging the remains of big game animals that have been hunted with lead-based ammunition. For example, a study conducted near Jackson Hole captured migrating golden eagles, tested them for lead, and found that 98% had elevated lead levels in their blood. Committed hunters themselves, Mike and Vince are devoting their professional energies toward finding sustainable, reasonable, and mutually beneficial solutions to this large-scale challenge.
Mike lives in Missoula and works as a researcher at the MPG Ranch, a large, privately owned ranch in the Bitterroot Valley that promotes conservation through restoration, research, education, and information sharing. He is also the author of the excellent new book Wilted Wings: A Hunter’s Fight for Eagles, which was recently published by Riverfeet Press. In it, Mike lays out the issue of lead poisoning in eagles in a compelling and easy-to-understand style, and he offers some clear and relatively simple paths to solving the problem. Mike has also written for The FlyFish Journal, Backcountry Journal, and Bugle, and he is a sought-after speaker on various hunting-related topics.
Vince is a Bozeman-based Research Wildlife Biologist with Conservation Science Global. He holds a Ph.D. from West Virginia University and recently published a wildly cited paper that details the implications of lead poisoning in eagles across North America. The paper, which was published in Science, describes how almost half of the bald and golden eagles sampled for the study had elevated levels of lead in their blood. More importantly, it explains exactly how increasing or decreasing levels of lead exposure will affect golden and bald eagle populations. We discussed the paper in our conversation, and I’ve also linked it to the episode notes.
This is a fascinating discussion that digs deep into a very specific issue– an issue that is largely under the radar here in the West. But if you zoom out from the details related to lead and eagles, and focus on the big picture, I think you’ll agree that Mike and Vince are shining examples of the many smart, driven, level-headed people here in the West who are working hard to find win-win solutions to conservation-related challenges. I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation, Mike’s new book, and Vince’s paper, and I hope you will too.
Be sure to check out the episode notes for a list of all the topics we discussed and links to everything. Thanks for listening!
Header photograph by Estelle Shuttleworth, Mike’s headshot by Jordan Hoffmaster
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This episode is brought to you by The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, which embodies the values-based approach to philanthropy and business of its Chairman Arthur M. Blank
EPISODE NOTES
Topics Discussed:
- 3:45 – Mike’s introduction
- 5:30 – Vince’s introduction
- 8:45 – Mike and Vince discuss the history of raptor-human interaction in the US over the last 200 years
- 15:15 Mike and Vince discuss the threat of lead poisoning as it pertains to raptors, noting the historical use of lead shot in waterfowl hunting
- 26:30 – Mike and Vince discuss their current work addressing the threat still posed to raptors by lead bullets for big game hunting
- 33:00 – Vince discusses ammunition demonstrations and the Arthur M. Blank Foundation’s advocacy for adopting non-lead ammunition through their private, guided hunting trips.
- 40:15 – Mike and Vince talk about why there has been resistance to widespread adoption of non-lead ammunition.
- 49:15 – Mike discusses managing the few situations where there is anger directed towards his work as he encourages hunters to switch ammunition
- 55:15 – Mike and Vince’s book recommendations
- 1:04:30 – Mike and Vince’s parting words of wisdom
Information Referenced:
- Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation
- Mike McTee
- Wilted Wings by Mike McTee
- Mike’s quarterly newsletter: Montana’s Nonlead Newsletter
- Vince Slabe
- Conservation Science Global
- MPG Ranch
- Bitterroot Valley
- Sapphire Mountains
- Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness
- Trap shooting
- Skeet shooting
- Rob Domenech
- Raptor View Research Institute
- Bald Eagle
- Golden Eagle
- “Demographic Implications of Lead Poisoning for Eagles Across North America” by Vince Slabe
- Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
- Peregrine Falcon
- Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act
- Hawk Mountain
- Goshawk
- Grouse
- George Bird Grinnell
- Boone and Crockett Club
- Field and Stream
- Waterfowl
- Mallard
- Bismuth
- National Wildlife Federation
- Endangered Species Act
- Migratory Bird Treaty Act
- The Peregrine Fund
- Chris Parish
- Billings Gazette
- Missoulian
- Paradise Valley
- Montana Hunters for Eagle Conservation
- Hunters for Eagle Conservation
- Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act
- Asics
- Montana Master Hunter Program
- One Montana
- Barnes Bullets
- Federal Premium Ammunition
- Nosler
- Hornady Manufacturing
- Shirley Basin
- North American Non-lead Partnership
- Leland Brown
- Oregon Zoo
- huntingwithnonlead.org
- Sporting Lead Free
- One Long River of Song by Brian Doyle
- Orion Magazine
- “Their Irrepressible Innocence” by Brian Doyle
- “Joyas Voladores” by Brian Doyle
- American Scholar
- Indian Creek Chronicles by Pete Fromm
- American Buffalo by Steven Rinella
- Scavenger’s Guide to Haute Cuisine by Steven Rinella
- There There by Tommy Orange
- Refuge by Terry Tempest Williams
- Jim Harrison
- Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
- The Road by Cormac McCarthy
- Ernest Hemingway
- A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
- Henry David Thoreau
- Dr. Drew Lanham
- The Homeplace by Drew Lanham
- Black Faces, White Spaces by Carolyn Finney
- Beyond Fair Chase by Jim Posewitz
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- Liz Moore – For the Love of Montana
- Lesli Allison & Tuda Libby Crews – Durable Conservation in the West… and Beyond
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Visit the podcast page for a full list of episodes where you can filter episodes by topic and guests’ vocations.
