Thank you to everyone who helped make Blue Mountain Wildlife’s year-end fundraising such an over whelming success. You raised just shy of $80,000 in December. That is more than one-third of BMW’s annual operating budget and puts us in an excellent position to deal with the opportunities and challenges of the new year. You have helped create an organization that is valued throughout eastern Oregon and eastern Washington by members of the public who find wildlife n need of care. Words do not adequately express how grateful I am for your ongoing support. 

Bald Eagle 22-424

 We could not save a Bald Eagle that came from Enterprise, Oregon this past week. He died of lead poisoning. Raptors, and other wildlife who scavenge, are secondarily poisoned when they feed on gut piles or carcasses of animals that have been shot with lead ammunition. 

The x-ray below shows two small pieces of lead in the eagles gut. The eagle’s blood tested ”high” which means the lead was above 66 micrograms/deciliter. Ten micrograms per deciliter is considered a toxic level of lead. We know lead is toxic and there is no safe level of lead in our food. I understand there are significant costs in switching from lead to nonlead ammunition, but the cost of not switching is even higher. For information about nonlead alternatives visit Hunting with Nonlead.

 Wishing Everyone Peace and Purpose 

 And This Much Happiness in 2023

Annual Blue Mountain Wildlife Membership Meeting

Everyone is welcome to attend the meeting. It will be held via Zoom on January 14, 2023 at 11:00 am. The link will be posted one week prior to that date on BMW’s website.