The Department of Ecology believes they can control how imidacloprid is sprayed to help oyster farming. Shrimp who are making farming oysters almost a near impossibility are the target for the neurotoxin. No one can control the ocean currents and how far this neurotoxin will spread is beyond their scope of interest. It will completely wipe out entire species of fish. It will ruin the Pacific Flyway for all the migrating shorebirds and waterfowl on ALL the west coast of the Americas. It will throw a giant monkey wrench of poison into the food chain. . This toxin is known to kill bees. According to the manufacturer has clearly stated and labeled directly on the product : DO NOT USE ON WATER: “This product is highly toxic to aquatic invertebrates. Do not apply directly to water, or to areas where surface water is present or to intertidal areas below the mean high water mark." This is a highly insidious chemical. It's a bandage to a problem that isn't being solved. The oysters will live in this toxic water and will be unfit for human consumption. We need to understand the ramifications of these actions will have adverse effects on our daily lives. We may not be aware of the harm until it is too late. . Please sign the petition to appeal the permits put in place by the Department of Ecology to spray this highly dangerous chemical in our coastal waters. Damages from this cannot be reversed. There is no safeguard for this and nothing will stop the demise of our ecological footprint from the misuse of this toxin. Below is a history of how the chemicals have and will be used as well as links to various news articles with personal statements from people in the industry. Pesticide use in Willapa Bay/Grays Harbor came about because the Willapa/Grays Harbor Oyster Growers Association (WGHOGA) contends that “two native species of burrowing shrimp (ghost shrimp,Neotrypaea californiensis and mud shrimp, Upogebia pugettensis) have caused impacts to commercial clam and oyster production since at least the 1940s by disrupting the structure and composition of the substrate, causing these shellfish to sink and suffocate. Between 1963 and 2013, commercial shellfish growers in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor used the insecticide carbaryl to control burrowing shrimp.”  Under pressure from the environmental and regulatory communities, the WGHOGA was forced to phase out carbaryl and has now secured permit approval to use the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid instead. . Because imidacloprid is thought to be less toxic than carbaryl, the new permit allows significant increases in acreages for shrimp control over previous levels. Treatment in Grays Harbor would increase from 220 acres treated/yr to 500 acres. Treatment in Willapa Bay would increase from 600 to 1500 acres treated/yr. Over the five-year term of the permit, the total acreage to be treated within Willapa Bay could range from 1,500 to7,500 acres, and within Grays Harbor could range from 500 to 2,500 acres (via Fact Sheet Imidacloprid FEIS – April 201). The period over which imidacloprid could be applied is also expanded from the July-August carbaryl permit window to April 15 – December 15 under the new permit. http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/disbelief-over-state-plan-to-spray-neurotoxin-into-oyster-beds/​ http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2015/04/oysters-and-pesticides-washington-state.html?m=1​ http://www.king5.com/story/tech/science/environment/2015/04/29/state-approves-plan-to-spray-new-pesticide-in-oyster-beds/26611285/​ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2015-04-24/washington-state-turns-to-neurotoxins-to-save-its-oysters