Office Location: 650 Hawthorne Ave SE, Ste # 130 Salem, OR 97301-5894 We are located in the Salem USDA Service Center Phone: (503) 391-9927 Fax: (503) 399-5799 E-mail: marion.swcd@oacd.org Office Photo and Map

The Marion Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) partnered with the Oregon DEQ, OSU Extension Service, Agriculture businesses and other partners to address potential pesticide issues in local streams. This Pesticide Stewardship Partnership (PSP) project was funded using federal money and local matching funds. The study area includes agricultural streams of the Pudding basin near Mt. Angel such as Zollner Creek, which has been the focus of many research articles since the early 1990’s when a number of different herbicides and pesticides were documented exceeding levels set for aquatic life. Due to changing agricultural practices, some of the chemicals found in the older studies are no longer used, but may be found in stream sediments, while newly introduced chemicals may begin appearing in water samples. Even low concentrations of pesticides in local streams can pose serious threats to aquatic life and to migrating salmon.

The partnership utilized a voluntary approach and enlisted the aid and expertise of local growers and businesses interested in improving water quality in local streams without having new regulations imposed. Objectives included determining risks posed by current use organophosphate insecticides and triazine herbicides in the study area of the Pudding River basin by monitoring water samples, associating land uses with detected pesticides and application timing, measuring flow in local streams and identifying and promoting best management practices to reduce high risk pesticide detections.

Related to this outreach, the SWCD has also partner with the DEQ to help hold two anonymous Waste Pesticide Collection events in the watershed at Wilco facilities in Mt. Angel and Donald to help growers safely dispose of outdated chemicals and raise awareness of their potential harm to aquatic life. The outreach included targeted mailings to grower and fertilizer and pesticide distributors and applicators. The total from both events is more than 30,000 pounds of waste pesticides collected from 80 growers and included many “legacy” banned pesticides such as DDT and Chlordane. Another collection event is scheduled for February 2009 with funding from the DEQ 319 program. For additional web resources related to IPMs please check out our Resources & Links.

In the three years since the DEQ has been collecting grab samples at eight locations in the Pudding basin for organophosphate insecticides and triazine herbicides, there has been very high detections in the Zollner / Bochsler Creek subbasin, moderately high detections in the Little Pudding subbasin, and low detections in the Pudding mainstem, while Abiqua and Silver Creek have had no detections. In the impacted basins, multiple detections of the insecticide chlorpyrifos over the chronic water quality standard have been made. Median chlorpyrifos concentrations have been near the chronic water quality standard, while maximum concentrations of this insecticide have exceeded the acute water quality standard, indicating it could be a threat to aquatic life in the locations it was detected. The insecticide Guthion (azinphos-methyl) has not been detected since one large detection was observed in 2005 when it was recorded at a level 400 times the chronic aquatic life water quality standard, while other pesticides such as simazine, atrazine, chlorpyrifos, diazon, dimethoate, and ethoprop have fluctuated in concentrations with no discernable trends yet. Diazinon and Ethoprop detections have been noted and have increased since 2005. Sampling is continuing and trends will be evaluated. The Environmental Protection Agency with the National Marine Fisheries Service drafted a biological opinion listing 37 pesticides in current use in the NW that are being reviewed for negative effects on salmon survival. Malathion, diazinon and chlorpyrifos have already been determined to pose a risk and a new label is being developed. Five of the pesticides found in the Pudding basin were pesticides on this BiOp list, including Chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate (OP) insecticide; and Azinphos-methyl, which is under a recent EPA phaseout that requires nursery uses cease by Sept. 2008, orchard use by 2012.

The Pudding River PSP partnered with iSNAP (Integrated Soil Nutrient and Pest) educational program to provide speakers on drift reduction, IPM, etc. at a Dec. 14th 2006 forum held at the Aurora Research Station. The forum provided outreach and education by experts in the field on techniques to minimize drift and employ IPM in orchards and perennial crops. Marion SWCD also held two sprayer calibration workshops for growers in partnership with OSU Extension in the fall of 2007. This was our final outreach event of the Pudding River Pesticide Stewardship Network. The workshops were well attended and had excellent presentations on area water quality, pesticide application laws, nozzle selection, calibrations, drift reduction techniques and other best management practices to reduce off-target pesticide transport.

Related Research Articles (obtained from http://californiaagriculture.ucop.edu/0501JFM/toc.html):

Food Quality Protection Act launches search for pest management alternatives
Van Steenwyk, Zalom
Organophosphate insecticides have allowed large yield increases, but under the FQPA many will be cancelled. Alternatives are needed to maintain a viable state agricultural industry.
*FULL TEXT ARTICLE (PDF)

Managing resistance is critical to future use of pyrethroids and neonicotinoids
Zalom, Toscano, Byrne
Pyrethroids and neonicotinoids have become important replacements for organophosphates, but resistance and nontarget impacts have been already identified.
*FULL TEXT ARTICLE (PDF)

Pheromone mating disruption offers selective management options for key pests
Welter et al.
Mating disruption can control insects; new pheromone-dispersal technologies are more effective, but insecticides are sometimes still necessary.
*FULL TEXT ARTICLE (PDF)

Biological and cultural controls . . .nonpesticide alternatives can suppress crop pests
Mills, Daane
Natural enemies of pests play an important role in preventing crop damage; cultural practices can also reduce the susceptibility of a crop to pests.
*FULL TEXT ARTICLE (PDF)

Various novel insecticides are less toxic to humans, more specific to key pests
Grafton-Cardwell et al.
A number of newly registered insecticides have low mammalian toxicity and target specific crop pests; however, resistance and secondary pest outbreaks must be managed.
*FULL TEXT ARTICLE (PDF)

Microorganisms and their byproducts, nematodes, oils and particle films have important agricultural uses
Godfrey et al.
Insect pathogens are potentially effective, but their commercial use — except Bt — has been limited; metabolic compounds from microorganisms and oils are widely used in pest control.
*FULL TEXT ARTICLE (PDF)

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Marion Soil and Water Conservation District
650 Hawthorne Avenue SE, Suite 130
Salem, OR 97301
Phone: (503) 391-9927
Fax: (503) 399-5799
E-mail: marion.swcd@oacd.org
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