A golden eagle released into the wild by the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Eagle Aviary died after being rescued in Colorado with elevated lead levels, prompting the Oklahoma-based facility to urge hunters across the Mountain West to use non-lead ammunition. The male eagle, named Nëmkis, was one of two golden eagle chicks born at the aviary and released in October 2025. Staff believe he was poisoned after scavenging a carcass that contained fragments from lead ammunition. He died shortly after Colorado Parks and Wildlife helped rescue him in late December. The aviary, which rehabilitates injured bald and golden eagles, said the birds have deep cultural importance to the Potawatomi people. Jennifer Randell, the facility’s director, said the tribe sees eagles as messengers that carry its prayers and feels a responsibility to protect them. The two young eagles were released near White Sulphur Springs, Montana, along a migration corridor. Telemetry showed them traveling through Montana and Wyoming before staff learned Nëmkis had remained on the ground in Colorado longer than expected. The tracking data later showed he was being transported toward Denver, leading the aviary to contact state wildlife officials. Bree Dunham, an aviary manager, said the eagle’s return was difficult to share with a community that had celebrated the birds’ births and release. Staff are now asking hunters to consider alternatives such as copper bullets, which do not leave lead fragments in animals scavenged by eagles. Lead exposure is a widespread risk for both bald and golden eagles. A 2022 study by U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scientists found evidence of lead poisoning in nearly half the eagles examined nationwide. The researchers said their models indicated lead exposure was slowing population growth for both species. Risk can rise in winter, when eagles have fewer live prey options and may feed on remains left by hunters. The appeal is for voluntary change amid longstanding debate over restrictions on lead ammunition. California is the only state with a complete ban, while a federal ban on lead shot for waterfowl hunting remains in force. A Biden-era rule to phase out lead ammunition and fishing tackle in eight national wildlife refuges was reversed by the Trump administration. In a September 2026 executive order, President Donald Trump directed federal agencies to allow traditional lead ammunition and tackle.