Mike McTee

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Mike McTee
Researcher
Mike McTee is a researcher at MPG Ranch and the author of Wilted Wings: A Hunter’s Fight for Eagles.

Mike shot his first weapon before he could recite the alphabet. Now, understanding weapons is part of his job. His career took this trajectory after Mike gained a B.S. in Environmental Chemistry. Curious about potential pollution at a historic shooting range at MPG Ranch, he earned an M.S. in Geosciences studying the site. Strangely, the sulfur inside the trap and skeet targets posed the main threat, not the lead in the shotgun pellets. Regardless, lead contamination soon grabbed Mike’s focus. Each winter at MPG Ranch, biologists caught eagles that had lead coursing through their veins. Lead can cripple eagles flightless and even kill them. Mike soon initiated studies on scavenger ecology and began investigating the wound ballistics of rifle bullets, the suspected source of lead.

Mike often connects with the public through his writings and speaking engagements, whether it be to a local group of hunters, or a gymnasium full of middle schoolers. He frequently writes about the outdoors, with work appearing in Sports Afield, The Drake, and Bugle. When he escapes the office, Mike explores wild landscapes with his family, always scanning the horizon for wildlife.

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Todd E. Katzner1,* , Deborah J. Pain2,3 , Michael McTee4, Leland Brown5, Sandra Cuadros6,7, Mark Pokras8, Vincent A. Slabe9,10, Richard T. Watson10, Guillermo Wiemeyer11, Bryan Bedrosian12, Jordan O. Hampton13,14 , Chris N. Parish9, James M. Pay15, Keisu  (2024).  Lead poisoning of raptors: state of the science and cross-discipline mitigation options for a global problem.  Biological Review  10.1111/brv.13087.
Published Paper

Rethinking Lead

March 27th, 2023
Dispatch