Beginning in 2013, Oregon faced a series of bumble bee poisoning incidences associated with pesticide use on linden trees. In response, the Oregon Legislature passed the Avoidance of Adverse Effects on Pollinating Insects bill. A key provision of this legislation was for Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) to develop a bee incidence reporting system to facilitate public reporting of incidences related to pollinator health. This week we hear about how this reporting system works from Dale Manager, a Program Manager with ODA’s Pesticide section. This week’s guest host is Oregon Bee Project’s Steering Committee member and ODA’s Pesticide Registration and Certification Specialist Gilbert Uribe.

Listen in to this episode to learn how the Department of Agriculture handles suspected pesticide-related bee incidents, and what they do to prevent them.

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“I would like to encourage any citizens within the state of Oregon to report any suspected bee related incident. That information is valuable to the department and others involved in evaluating pollinator health.” – Dale Mitchell

Show Notes:

• When Dale got started in the Department of Agriculture’s pesticide division
• What steps are taken in a normal bee kill investigation
• How the investigative process changes under different conditions
• What separates the bee kill investigations from their normal procedures
• How the Department of Agriculture enforces their rules and regulations
• How the ODA’s process compares to those of other states
• Why Oregon’s data collection follows a national guideline
• What changed since the Wilsonville bee incident
• Why the Wilsonville incident gained so much public awareness

“Bee or pollinator concerns is only one type of investigative activity that we follow up on, but the process is really a fact finding process.” – Dale Mitchell

Links Mentioned:

• How to report a suspected pesticide-related bee kill
  • Report online with the incident complaint form
  • By Email: pestx@oda.state.or.us
  • By Phone: 503-986-4635
• Learn more about Dale’s favorite book and tool to use with pollinators: Guidance for inspecting alleged cases of pesticide-related bee incidents (US EPA, 2013)
• Dale’s favorite pollinator: the honey bee (check out this short photo essay on honey bee crop pollination)
• Connect with Dale Mitchell at the Oregon Department of Agriculture