Subject: [Tweeters] Pesticides and Birds- A perilous Mix
Date: May 19 18:07:00 2014
From: Liz Hemberry - lizhemberry at hotmail.com


Nigel
It appears that the referenced document was published in 1991. Is that the case? If so, I would think it would be outdated. My point is that a lot has changed over time and 1991 is a long time ago.

Ken Hemberry
Leavenworth

From: n4946b at comcast.net
To: lizhemberry at hotmail.com; clsouth at u.washington.edu; tweeters at uw.edu
Subject: RE: [Tweeters] Pesticides and Birds- A perilous Mix
Date: Mon, 19 May 2014 17:40:19 -0700

The figure of 67 million comes from a paper published in a refereed scientific journal:Pimentel, D., A. Greiner, and T. Bashore, Economic and environmental costs of pesticide use, Archives of Environmental Contamination 21 (1991): 84?90. Some interesting perspectives on anthropogenic causes of avian mortality and their relative magnitudes here: http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr191/Asilomar/pdfs/1029-1042.pdf Nigel BlakleyOlympia From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu [mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Liz Hemberry
Sent: Monday, May 19, 2014 4:36 PM
To: Christine Southwick; tweeters at uw.edu
Subject: RE: [Tweeters] Pesticides and Birds- A perilous Mix Christine Your article states that pesticides kill 67 million birds per year. You provided a link to the WDFW to substantiate this figure. However, when I went to the site there wasn?t a mention of a single bird dying due to pesticides. The reason I ask is because I am a commercial grower of pears with orchards located in Dryden, Cashmere, Bridgeport and Brewster. I am also the General Manager of Peshastin Hi-Up Growers which is a cooperative that receives, stores, packs and ships an average of 53 million pounds of fresh pears per year. I am also an avid birder. I have not seen sick or injured birds in any of our orchards. We have found two deceased songbirds in our yard this year which I am confident were victims of our pet cat. Another link that you provided was from an organization called Defenders of Wildlife. Their link stated that, ?pesticides are indiscriminate killers.? I can assure you that in the case of the tree fruit industry this is a false statement. Pesticides have been in a constant state of refinement over the past several decades. Products that were indiscriminate have been replaced by ones that are highly selective. This accounts for the increase in the number of pounds that are applied today vs. what was applied in the past. In the past, we applied pesticides that killed a host of insects with a single application. Now, we apply more frequently at lower rates with a rotation of products which results in more pounds of pesticides being applied but also in a manner that increases safety for both people and wildlife. You raise concerns about pesticides entering into bodies of water. These are valid concerns. I would like to point out that every pesticide registered in the State of Washington comes with an attached label. The label, which is a legal document, contains warnings and restrictions. Products that are toxic to fish and aquatic organisms will state that it is prohibited to apply within a certain amount of feet next to the water. Failure to comply with the label is against the law. Pesticide applicators must pass a test and undergo continuing education. As you go on to point out there have been 15 reports of potential instances of spray drift so far this year. If those who have been accused are found to be at fault by WSDA they will be subject to fines and possible suspension of their license. Those who travel to Eastern Washington will see growers applying sprays with a hand gun to avoid drift. The fact that a very few choose to apply pesticides in an irresponsible manner should not cast the rest of us in a poor light. After all we wouldn?t blame all of those who operate motor vehicles because a very few choose to drink and drive. In conclusion, I would like to assure you that pesticides and their use is constantly changing to reduce risk to man and wildlife. Ken HemberryLeavenworth
> Date: Mon, 19 May 2014 07:50:42 -0700
> From: clsouth at u.washington.edu
> To: tweeters at uw.edu
> CC:
> Subject: [Tweeters] Pesticides and Birds- A perilous Mix
>
> For those of you who want some good links to how pesticides kill and/or impair birds, read my latest article in the Shoreline Area News. There are three links going to good bird organizations, plus the latest news on pesticides and human sickness in WA.
>
> http://www.shorelineareanews.com/2014/05/for-birds-pesticides-and-birds-perilous.html?
>
> Christine Southwick
> N Seattle/Shoreline
> clsouthwick at q.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> Tweeters mailing list
> Tweeters at u.washington.edu
> http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters