Applegater Spring 2017
Notes from a Rogue entomologist
Partnering to address
pesticides in streams
BY RICHARD J. HILTON
Reducing pesticides in our streams
and surface waters is the goal of the
Pesticide Stewardship Partnership (PSP).
The PSP, developed by the state of
Oregon, brings together a wide array
of state and local agencies, such as the
Department of Agriculture (ODA),
Department of Environmental Quality
(DEQ), Oregon State University (OSU),
the local OSU Extension, soil and water
conservation districts, and experts in
forestry and health.
Over the past three years, I have
been involved in a local PSP project
focusing on the Middle Rogue (Bear
Creek) watershed. The state initiated this
project in 2014, taking water samples
from various tributaries of Bear Creek
and testing them for pesticides. The
monitoring focuses on those pesticides
that are the most problematic or most
used. The good news was that none of
the detected pesticides were above any
threshold levels, but the bad news was
that a number of different pesticides
were detected, some frequently. The
testing showed that most of the pesticides
found were herbicides or weed killers. No
fungicides and only a few insecticides
were detected.
In light of these results, I
became involved in a program of
education and outreach to our local
pesticide users. Pesticides can get into
streams in many ways: in the air due
to spray drift, and in water via leaching
Photo, left: Stream being sampled for
pesticides. Photo: Jackson Soil &
Water Conservation District.
Photo, below: Old DDT containers collected for
disposal. Photo: Oregon Department of Agriculture.
19
through the soil or in surface runoff. The
problem is complicated by the fact that
in the Bear Creek watershed, pesticides
are used in a variety of settings, including
agriculture, forestry, rights of way, as well
as residential and landscape use.
Over the years, my work has revolved
around the integrated management of
insect and mite pests in orchards and
vineyards. In this project, however, I
found myself confronted with an issue
that went well beyond my expertise.
So with assistance from the ODA, I
and my colleagues at OSU undertook a
collaborative approach.
Personnel from the Integrated
Plant Protection Center at OSU,
which has a wealth of experience related
to the proper use and application of
pesticides, held focus groups with
growers and other pesticide users. The
purpose of these focus groups was to raise
awareness and foster dialog regarding
ways to tackle the problem. The growers
I work with strive to be good stewards
of the environment—the land is their
number-one asset, and they realize that
it is their job to take care of it.
At my invitation, OSU’s expert
in spray technology recently traveled
to southern Oregon from Hood River
to lead workshops for our orchardists
and vineyardists to provide the latest
information on sprayer calibration and
application in order to minimize the
amount of spray drift. It is incumbent
on everyone who uses pesticides, from
homeowners to the large-scale growers,
to use these materials responsibly, always
following the label. When pesticides are
used, they need to be applied correctly
with every effort taken to prevent their
movement off target. That is the goal of
this partnership.
An additional component of the
PSP was to conduct pesticide-collection
events locally. To date, three events
have been held; these were aimed at
growers and other commercial pesticide
users and resulted in the collection and
proper disposal of over 25,000 pounds
of unwanted and unused pesticides,
including many old containers of DDT.
When I checked with the DEQ
to see if any sampling had been done in
the Applegate watershed, I was informed
of a statewide survey done around five
years ago where a sample was taken
from the Applegate River near Highway
199. In that sample a single pesticide,
the herbicide diuron, was detected at a
low level. Diuron is the most commonly
found pesticide in streams across Oregon.
This pre-emergent herbicide is used in a
variety of crops and in non-crop areas
such as roadsides. In response to these
types of findings, Oregon Department
of Transportation took action and, from
2010 to 2015, reduced their use of
diuron by almost 90 percent.
The PSP approach to this problem
has been employed in other watersheds
in Oregon with positive results. While
our local partnership by itself will not
resolve the issue, it does provide a means
to address the problem in a proactive and
cooperative way.
Richard J. Hilton
541-772-5165 ext. 227
Senior Faculty Research Assistant /
Entomologist
Oregon State University-Southern
Oregon Research & Extension Center
richardhilton@oregonstate.edu
to defy the gag order. In
fact, nearly every science-
based government
agency is now involved.
Trump is severing
the ties between our
government agencies and
the public, harvesting
mistrust, and impacting
our ability to create
meaningful relationships,
transparent planning processes, and
collaboration. Many wonder how this
inability to openly communicate will
affect local collaborative processes like the
Applegate AMA, the Upper Applegate
Demonstration Treatment Units, future
timber sales, trail development, and other
local federal-land-management projects
heavily supported by the community.
These popular land-management
projects depend on open, transparent
lines of communication, trust, and
respect between collaborative partners.
To make matters worse, Trump has
instituted a hiring freeze on government
employees. Trump’s order states that “no
vacant positions...may be filled and no
new positions may be created, except
in limited circumstances.” The idea is
to trim the federal workforce through
attrition despite the fact that, since 1994,
according to the National Finance Center,
the US Forest Service (USFS) workforce
has declined by 45 percent. Current
staffing levels leave many important
issues, including species surveys, road
and trail maintenance, recreational
management and project monitoring,
minimally addressed.
Under Trump, this will
only get worse. Locally,
it means professionals
such as botanists,
wildlife biologists,
recreation planners, and
firefighting personnel
cannot be hired.
Many wonder if
agencies like the USFS
can continue collaborating with local
communities, implementing science-
based management, and providing
acceptable levels of transparency
under a Trump administration. When
campaigning in Oregon, Trump vowed
to increase public land logging and
reduce environmental regulations. Many
are concerned how this might affect
BLM’s already timber-heavy approach.
The future is uncertain, but as long as
federal agencies and the public cannot
communicate effectively, controversy,
gridlock, and litigation will prevail.
We are being thrust back into the
era of corporate dominance, secretive
government management, and ineffective
environmental regulations that could
leave a lasting legacy of environmental
destr uction, impoverished local
communities, and a devastated resource
base. In the short term, corporate and
industrial interests will thrive; in the
long term, we will all pay the price.
Even Smokey the Bear says “Resist.”
I, for one, will be happy to join him.
Luke Ruediger
541-890-8974
OPINION
Smokey the Bear says ‘resist’
BY LUKE RUEDIGER
President Trump is now in the
White House signing executive orders
and taking unilateral actions that
could destroy the social fabric of our
communities and the integrity of our
environment. In my lifetime, I have
never seen a threat that is so widespread
and comprehensive. As a community and
as a nation we must stand up for freedom,
respect, and environmental responsibility.
On January 21, 2017, millions
of people around the world joined
the Women’s March in opposition
to the Trump agenda. Locally, 8,000
people, including many Applegaters,
showed up in Ashland to protest
Trump, his cabinet, and his agenda.
Trump has responded to the
protests by signing executive orders and
memorandums that threaten the rights
of women and immigrants, eliminate
important environmental regulations,
and encourage development of the
Keystone XL, Dakota Access, and even
the local Jordan Cove LNG pipeline
in southern Oregon. These pipelines
have been strongly opposed by local
communities, affected landowners,
tribal governments, and large
numbers of the American population.
Trump has also imposed a “gag
order” on the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), the Department of
Agriculture, and the Department of
the Interior so they cannot publicly
comment on the effects of Trump’s new
climate policy. Although Trump can
avoid the media if he likes, stating that
he would rather communicate directly
with the people through social media,
government agencies, including our
local forest service, have been barred
from open lines of communication
with the public. Routine decisions
once made locally regarding public
communication, public involvement,
the announcement of public meetings
and press releases now must be cleared by
the administration in Washington, DC,
adding another layer of big government
and a hindrance to local collaboration.
In response, the folks within the
National Park Service have gone rogue
and are posting on Facebook and other
sites in opposition to Trump’s gag
order. Numerous websites, Facebook
pages, and Twitter accounts have been
created that provide opportunities
for federal employees to speak out on
their own personal time. Thus far, the
coalition represents Arches, Shenandoah,
Yosemite, Badlands, Yellowstone, Grand
Canyon, Blue Ridge Parkway, and Great
Smoky Mountains national parks. It’s
time for Crater Lake, Lava Beds and
Oregon Caves to get involved. As I write
this article, government agencies like
the EPA, the US Forest Service, and the
National Weather Service are also joining
in, creating unofficial Twitter accounts
