WERA069: Coordination of Integrated Pest Management Research and Extension/Educational Programs for the Western States & Pacific Basin Territories
Statement of Issues and Justification
WERA-069 has evolved from being a goal-setting and review body for USDA CSREES regional IPM grants to being a significant coordination and vision-setting body for research and extension IPM programs in the West. Through its collegial and productive annual meetings it has facilitated a smooth transition to the new USDA regional IPM Center-coordinated infrastructure for IPM, and it has developed a constructive dialog with the new USDA regional NPDN program. WERA-069 has also conducted symposia (at the National IPM Symposium (2003) and in Oregon (2005)) on important advances in systems level IPM. WERA-069 represents a diverse region, geographically and bio-climatically, representing most of the worlds terrestrial biomes. Crop diversity is consequently high, as is the complex of pests, diseases and weeds that attack them. Throughout the region, IPM research and extension programs surmount a high level of pest, disease and weed pressure against a background of other issues and concerns that they must consider and explicitly address. These include pesticide fate and behavior, and the consequences for human and environmental health of off-target transport, impacts of pest management practices on water quality, and more recently impacts on air quality. Invasive species also predominate as concerns in some parts of the region (including the Pacific Islands), and these concerns are spreading to provide all state IPM programs with significant challenges. The region also faces the highest levels of pest-vectored human disease in any of the USDA regions. Finally, all programs are addressing new audiences and stakeholders from forestry, to the urban sector, schools and homeowners. When serious issues connected with IPM occur, they tend to occur first and with greatest intensity in the Western United States, as a result of its vast area, extreme climates and international connections.Recognizing the complexity of the challenge, IPM nationally is now guided by a Roadmap, developed by the CSREES with input from may sources. This Roadmap has identified the analysis of health, environmental and economic impacts of IPM as a key priority. Impacts require aggregation at a state and regional level in order to contribute to national policy, but no resources have been allocated for this important task. WERA-069 will address this need as a key part of its activities. The emerging focus on biosecurity also requires IPM faculty to coordinate with diagnosticians and their counterparts in the NPDN, and WERA-069 proposes to focus on effective delivery of a seamless IPM and diagnostics system to minimize biosecurity risks in the region. Finally, WERA-069 also will strive to contribute to programs throughout the region, including distant, outlying territories, despite limited resources to do so.
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