Beekeeper bills county for deaths from pesticides

Master Beekeeper Debra Langley-Boyer, a North Mason resident, has filed a claim with the county for reimbursement for the loss of her bees due to herbicide spraying.

Langley-Boyer is asking for $4,035.48 and provided the county with an itemized list for the deaths of her bees in 2020 and 2023, including $800 for the loss of queens, $483 for honey lost and “unrecoverable” for native bee loss.

“This is the second time (May 2023) Mason County has killed my honeybees and native bees due to spraying herbicides along the Tee Lake county road. The herbicides were used when the roadside vining blackbe...