[Pollinator] Arborist appeals bee-killing fine

[Scott Black]

Go to the web page to watch the video. 

 

 <http://www.koin.com/news/oregon/arborist-appeals-bee-killing-fine>
http://www.koin.com/news/oregon/arborist-appeals-bee-killing-fine

 

Arborist appeals bee-killing fine

50,000 bees died in pesticide misuse

By    KOIN 6 News staff 

*	Updated: Friday, December 20, 2013, 6:23 PM PST
*	Published: Friday, December 20, 2013, 3:52 PM PST

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) - A landscaping company fined by the Oregon Department
of Agriculture for killing 50,000 bees in Wilsonville is appealing the fine
-- but a bee group said the fine wasn't big enough anyway.

For its role in the Wilsonville incident,  <http://www.collierarbor.com/>
Collier Arbor Care of Clackamas was fined $555 for performing a pesticide
application in a faulty, careless, or negligent manner, the ODA said. The
two pesticide applicators in the incident were each issued civil penalties,
also in the amount of $555.

The bees died in the parking lot of a Wilsonville Target after the pesticide
was sprayed on the trees while they were in bloom.

Scott Hoffman, the executive director of the  <http://www.xerces.org/>
Xerces Society, said the fine was not big enough to dissuade pesticide
companies from doing it again.

"Six cents a bee is what we calculated , and that's what the fines come up
to. And that's just not very much," he told KOIN 6 News. "These chemicals
are highly toxic. They're toxic to bees, they are long lived in the plants
and they're used everywhere."

The conservation group wants better labeling and stiffer fines to prevent
another similar incident.

"Five hundred fifty-five dollars for killing thousands of bees is just not
enough to keep people from doing it again," he said. "I know these are
accidents. I know people aren't doing this maliciously, but its negligence."

Collier Abor Care declined to comment outside of saying, "We were following
the law as instructed. That's our position."

Collier Arbor Care was also issued a civil penalty in the amount of $407 for
applying a pesticide product inconsistent with its labeling in connection to
the downtown Portland incident, and the applicators were also fined $407.

 

 

_______

 

Scott Hoffman Black

Executive Director

     The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

Chair

     IUCN Butterfly Specialist Group

 

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

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The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international
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invertebrates and their habitat.

To join the Society, make a contribution, or read about our work, please
visit  <http://www.xerces.org/> www.xerces.org.

 

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Butterflies

 

 

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