Oregon marks Pollinator Week without a mass bee kill
It's Pollinator Week, and for the first time in two years, Oregon has not marked the observance with an accidental mass bee kill.
Instead, the state has a new online reporting system up and running, and the Legislature is considering bolstering pollinator outreach and education.
Pollinator Week was designated by the U.S. Senate eight years ago to raise awareness that bees, butterflies and bats are necessary for 90 percent of flowering plants to reproduce.
A third of our food supply is dependent on them. And both native and domesticated populations are declining.
This year, Gov. Kate Brown designated June 15-21 Oregon Pollinator Week.
The state made headlines during Pollinator Week two years ago with the nation's largest mass bee kill.
About 50,000 bumblebees were found dead in a Wilsonville shopping center parking lot. Investigators found that a tree service had misapplied a class of pesticides called neonicotinoids, killing the bees.
Last year, during Pollinator Week, another mass bee kill was reported, this time in a Eugene apartment complex parking lot. Again, a tree service had misapplied a neonicotinoid pesticide.
The incidents prompted the Legislature to form a pollinator protection task force, which recommended four bills considered this session:
•HB 3360 funds a bee health diagnostic facility at Oregon State University. The Joint Ways and Means natural resources subcommittee heard testimony on the bill last week.
•HB 3361 funds OSU Extension Service activities relating to pollinator health. The same subcommittee heard testimony on the bill last week.
•HB 3362 establishes a pollinator outreach and education plan. It's scheduled for a work session June 18 in the same subcommittee.
•HCR 9 is a memorial recognizing the importance of bees. It was approved by the House and the Senate.
"We can take steps to provide bees with the proper habitat and limit their exposure to toxins, but to do that we need to educate the public," said Rep. Jeff Reardon, D-Happy Valley, who has spearheaded the legislation.
Meanwhile, the Oregon Department of Agriculture launched a new online pesticide reporting system to take complaints of mass bee deaths, as well as other possible pesticide problems.
Since its launch in April, the online system has taken 17 complaints, with four of those related to pollinators, said Dale Mitchell, ODA pesticide program manager.
Overall, the department has received 160 pesticide-related complaints this year, with about a dozen of those related to pollinators.
In May, it investigated four reports of dead bees, including one at a Yamhill County winery. None of those investigations are completed, Mitchell said.
tloew@statesmanjournal.com, (503) 399-6779 or follow at Twitter.com/Tracy_Loew
Pollinator Week
From the Oregon Zoo, here are a few suggestions for ways to celebrate pollinator week:
•Join the Xerces Society's citizen-science bumblebee tracking project. Sign up and upload photos of bumblebees in your neighborhood to help scientists learn more about these important pollinators.
•Make your yard pollinator friendly by using the free Grow Smart app to find nontoxic yard solutions, attract beneficial wildlife and keep a kid-friendly yard.
•Drink a beer: Part of the proceeds from Pelican Brewing's Silverspot IPA support the Oregon silverspot butterfly recovery program.
Pesticide incident reporting
The Oregon Department of Agriculture is encouraging anyone who finds more than 100 dead bees or is involved in suspected pesticide incidents to report them using its online reporting form. Or email pestx@oda.state.or.us, or call 503-986-4635.