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Lead Fishing Weight Exchange in Milton

Project Details

Year: 2007
Location: Great Blue Hill District of the Boston Minuteman Council, Milton, Massachusetts
Project Manager: Michael Browne, Boy Scout
Partners: Town of Milton Parks and Recreation Department

Overview

Fifteen-year-old Michael Browne undertook the Lead Fishing Weight Exchange Project to earn his Eagle Scout rank, a recognition that only 5 percent of all Boy Scouts achieve. Michael worked to remove 40 to 60 pounds of lead from the use of recreational fishing by attending fishing derbies and offering lead-free sinkers in exchange for lead sinkers. Michael also developed and distributed educational materials about the dangers of lead for wild game, birds and fish and reached out to 500 Boston area Boy Scouts, families and area residents. Lead poses a serious threat to human health and the environment. The most common cause of death in adult breeding loons is lead toxicity from ingested fishing sinkers. Safer alternatives for use in recreational fishing are readily available.

Michael partnered with his Boy Scout Troop, the State of MA Department of Conservation and Recreation, Cub Scouts, and the Boston Minuteman Council. Newspaper articles were published in the Milton Times, Boston Globe, Scouting Times, and Field and Stream. Michael won the Field and Stream "Heroes of Conservation" award for his project - a honor awarded to outdoorsmen and women dedicated to defending and protecting wildlife and our environment. 

Check out how Michael continues his good work at his  web site here .



This page updated Tuesday November 29 2016