Representative Jeff Reardon has served the East Portland District of Happy Valley (District 48) in the Oregon Legislature since January 2013. Shortly after coming to office there was a tragic pesticide poisoning of bumble bees in a suburban big-box parking lot in Portland. Although he had been thinking about pollinator health before his election, he quickly found himself at the lead of an initiative to strike a Pollinator Health Task Force and then a comprehensive House Bill around pollinator health. House Bill 3362 is without equal in the United States and has not only tasked the Oregon State University Extension Service and state agencies to work on pollinator health, but has also committed resources towards carrying out this work. Representative Reardon was born and raised in the blue-collar town of Kelso, Washington and is a Vietnam Era Veteran (having served on a nuclear submarine in the Western Pacific). He had a busy career before entering politics, not only as a high school teacher but also as a communications manager with Tektronix.

Listen in as we talk about Reardon’s landmark bill, what it has done for pollinators, and how he involved the bee-keeping community.

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“[The Oregon Pollinator Health Bill] is one of my favorite projects, ever.“ – Jeff Reardon

Show Notes:

• How Reardon’s landmark bill got started
• How the bill evolved from initial intention
• Who the key players were in passing the legislation
• What is in the bill, and who it was for
• How communication with beekeepers has helped revise the law for the better
• Why Jeff is so passionate about the project

“We’re really concerned about how to inform the backyard gardener about pesticides and pollinators. If the trained license applicators are having this much trouble, then what do we do for the backyard gardeners?“ – Jeff Reardon

Links Mentioned:

• Learn more about the Oregon Task Force on Pollinator Health and House Bill 3362
• Check out Representative Readon’s favorite book, “Common Bee Pollinators of Oregon Crops”
• Find out more about favorite tool, “The Legislative Process: How ideas become law”
• Learn more about Representative Reardon’s favorite bee: Ceratina – Small Carpenter Bee
• Connect with Representative Jeff Reardon at his website