May 2, 2014
Contact: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Megan Nagel, 503-231-6123, [email protected] or
Coos County Public Health: Rick Hallmark, [email protected], 541-751-2431
Coos County to begin treating Bandon Marsh Refuge with mosquito larvicide Bandon, Ore. - Coos County Public Health will begin ground application of Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, or Bti, on Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge starting this weekend, May 3-4, 2014. Bti is a naturally derived larvicide that kills mosquitoes in their aquatic immature life stages as they hatch in breeding pools. Bti targets mosquito larvae and is not toxic to bees, moths, butterflies, fish, mammals, or birds. The granular formulation will be applied by hand and backpack spreaders and restricted to areas within the Ni-les’tun Unit of the Refuge.
“Bti will effectively control mosquitoes on the Ni-les'tun Unit of the Refuge while posing a low risk to wildlife, their habitats, and the human environment. Coos County Public Health will be treating the refuge as needed throughout the summer, as determined by ongoing monitoring, to prevent larvae from developing into adults.” stated Refuge Project Leader Roy Lowe.
Funding, provided by the Service, was previously released to Coos County Public Health for monitoring and application of larvicide. The County has hired a field technician to monitor for mosquitoes on the Refuge throughout the spring and summer in concert with Refuge employees. The County has also contracted with Vector Disease Control International to apply the larvicide Bti, as needed.
Treatment of mosquito larvae could not move forward until the appropriate permitting and legal planning documents, like the two recently finalized environmental assessments, were completed. The two EAs comprise the Integrated Marsh Management Approach to control mosquitoes at the refuge through long-term habitat modification and mosquito control treatments. The channel creation work in the tidal marsh to eliminate mosquito breeding habitat is scheduled to begin in early summer 2014.
The Service evaluated and responded to comments received on the EAs. This information, the environmental assessments and more are available for review on the refuge’s mosquito web page
www.fws.gov/oregoncoast/bandonmarsh/Mosquito.html.
Coos County Public Health: http://www.co.coos.or.us/Departments/PublicHealth.aspx
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.
The mission of Coos County Public Health is to create healthy places to live, learn, work and play.
Commissioner Sweet Comments on Joint Media Release
Sent: Friday, May 02, 2014 3:06 PM
To: John Sweet
Cc: Bob Main; Melissa Cribbins; Rick Hallmark
Subject: Re: Mosquito Management at Bandon Marsh
John:
Good to speak with you on the phone today. The attached news release was sent to Coos County newspapers a short while ago.
Our crew only saw a single mosquito out on the marsh this morning The yare optimistic it won't be a large flyoff or at least localize. Fingers crossed
Roy
On Fri, May 2, 2014 at 11:28 AM, John Sweet <[email protected]> wrote:
Roy,
Thanks for the update and for all the work that has gone into the mosquito abatement plan for the Bandon Marsh. Hope we can get a press release out asap regarding this weekend’s anticipated flyoff, an explanation and maybe an apology for the process and time it took to get permits in place, and the expectation that further flyoffs will be avoided. If we do not get this word out “right now” I’m afraid that we will back on the defensive again, that all the naysayers will consider themselves proven right, and that all the good work that has happened since last summer will temporarily at least be considered for nought.
Thanks,
John
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USFWS---Bandon Mosquito Infestation was a Figment of the Imagination
USFWS---Moving Forward at the Bandon Marsh Mosquito Preserve
BOC---Public Meeting Vector Assessment & Control Advisory Committee May 1, 2014
Letter to Editor---They're Back, The Mosquitoes are here....
USFWS---Public Comment Integrated Marsh Management in Bandon by April 9, 2014
BOC---Shared State-County Services and Mosquito Abatement
USFWS---Post Card & News Release on Bandon Marsh Mosquito EA March 11, 2014
USFWS---Public Comment & Meeting for Bandon Mosquito Control March 18, 2014
Mosquito Armageddon: One Mosquito Bite Can Change a Life Forever
The Bandon Marsh Mosquito Farm
CCT---The Mosquito Survey of Impacts and Damages
CCT---Bandon Marsh Mosquito Meeting September 21, 2013
BOC---Town Hall on the Bandon Marsh Mosquito Source Control September 6, 2013
USFWS---Public Responses to the Bandon Marsh Mosquito Invasion
Letter to Mr. Lowe of the USFWS about the Bandon Marsh Mosquitoe Problem
Department of Interior---Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations AKA The Coquilles
USFWS---Bandon Marsh Expansion Meeting Friday August 30, 2013
The Nature Conservancy---Contact the Oregon Leadership Team
USDA---National Resources Inventory Summary Report 2010, not good for OR-Farms
Congressman Peter DeFazio Votes in favor of more Land Acquisitions
The Bandon Marsh---Xerces Opposes Bandon Marsh Spraying
Promoting the Bandon Marsh at the Oregon Film Festival
Federal Register taking comments on hunting in The Bandon Marsh
The Nature Conservancy---Oregon Grasslands: Crucial for Wildlife Survival
US Department of Interior Propaganda Press Release on Imaginary Economic Engine