Melanie Thank you so much for calling me Monday evening November 27th about Sequoia’s pesticide use. I was surprised. And I must admit it wasn’t until you mentioned your boss that I realized that you were in the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) department at Sequoia.
I did understand that you were going to email me your contact information and a few answers before now but despite having you read my email address back to me, I must have muddled it when I gave it to you.
I have also been trying to get contact information for the IPM department from Yosemite for almost 3 months now. Actually Sequoia also failed to respond in any way to my first request for pesticide usage information, but I had not yet discovered for myself the federal requirement for IPM departments. In half a dozen contacts with Yosemite, their superintendent’s office failed to even once mention or later admit that an IPM contact even existed. Once I had discovered that an IPM Department /contact was legally required by the parks, Yosemite then ignored specific requests for a contact. And to this day I do not have a contact for the Yosemite IPM Department.
You called them your “sister Park” so would it be possible for you to provide Yosemite’s IPM Department contact to me? The very same is true for the Everglades. This really just doesn’t look good to me at all — and actually _any_ of my friends — really.
I told you on our call that I am a little bit aware of, and very sympathetic towards, the deep issues the parks are trying to solve. I dearly love biology and follow many, many aspects of it.
It was very kind of you to explain how dedicated your IPM department is and how little pesticide use there actually is in the park. And how there is absolutely no need for me to worry at all. As I said to you, I believe that the parks could have been less antagonistic to me. Such as the lying by omission by the Yosemite Park’s superintendent’s office described above. I would certainly not be as concerned as I am now _if_ — as you told me — something like 80% of the pesticide use was for, and in, Park buildings. But of course the only way for me to understand _and verify_ that would be to get the data that I’m requesting. I am asking again for the public documents detailing all pesticide use in the Sequoia Park for the last 5 years (names, amounts, locations, and if applied by a contractor their license information) Melanie, sorry, I upped the time frame from what I told you on the phone in order to get some data before the covid changes that you pointed out in our chat. I hope your boss gives you the approval you thought he might to give these public documents to me.
Thank you for also explaining about the certification program. Does everyone in the IPM Department have to be certified? Is the certification program specific to the NPS? Who runs it (the IPM certification program)? And could you describe the different certification levels again? Or would there be a public internet page that describes this key aspect of the IPM Department? It is required by law but I don’t want to be a problem 😊 I would also really like to know who created the training videos that I have seen?
I have a contact who tried to send me a variety of links to IPM training but unfortunately many of the links required passwords and login information. Do you think it might be a really good idea to have a public /anonymous login to this system as a way of being more open /transparent about all aspects of pesticide use in Our National Parks?
Again you were _very_ helpful and your dedication to the park was clear and obvious to me. At the same time, I was a little disappointed and depressed that you were unaware that glyphosate was originally patented as an antibiotic and damages the soil food web. Would you have any idea how many other important details about the pesticides being used in Sequoia, the Everglades, or Yosemite have also not managed to get through the “training” administrators? Thank you so much for protecting our endangered species!
I am curious about Sequoia’s use of green pesticides such as neem oil. How would you compare the amounts of neem oil used to the amounts of glyphosate products you told me about? Far less, roughly equal, far more?
Is Sequoia National Park using any molt inhibitors of any kind to control mosquitoes?
You had mentioned talking to your boss about getting me the actual full data that I am requesting. Could you provide me his name (I’m not being chauvinistic, you mentioned that it was a he 😉) and his contact information?
And one last question a bit outside of your actual expertise so if you don’t know it is _okay_. I understand that the John Muir Project is concerned about and even suing Sequoia over the possible planting of Sequoia “seedling” material in the burned areas. I am wondering where is the online documentation as to how this material was grown, what laboratory they were grown in, and the specific organic material they were derived from? I am asking since, if the lawsuit is unsuccessful this Sequoia material would be with us for hundreds if not thousands of years. Do you think it might be better government transparency if the Sequoia Park had a better way of searching their website for this kind of information?
Melanie, I wish you and your husband the very best! Happy holidays!
Bob
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