Annual/Termination Reports:

[02/01/2006] [02/14/2007] [04/03/2008] [03/12/2009]

Report Information

Participants

Rex Baker, ROMAB Enterprises, Inc. Corona, CA;
Ken Ballinger, Airepel, Inc., Wilmington, DE;
Scott Beckerman, USDA/APHIS/Wildlife Services, Sacramento, CA;
Are Berentsen, Utah State University, Logan, UT;
Jennifer Borgo, Utah State University, Logan, UT;
Tim Chervick, Swift Creek Consulting, Vernal, UT;
Patrick Darrow, Utah State University, Logan, UT;
Mary Ann Douglas, HACCO, Inc., Randolph, WI;
John Eisemann, USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO;Kathleen Fagerstone, USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO;
Ed Foster, Nevada Dept. of Agriculture, Reno, NV;
Heather Keough, Utah State University, Logan, UT;
Bruce Kimball, USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO;
Jim Knight, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT;
Stephanie Lawrence, University of California, Davis, CA;
Rex Marsh, University of California, Davis, CA;
Joel Martin, Utah State University, Logan, UT;
Bruce Menzel, USDA CSREES, Washington, DC;
Dale Nolte, USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO;
John O'Brien, Nevada Dept. of Agriculture, Reno, NV;
Jeanette O'Hare, USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO;
Richard Poche, Genesis Laboratories, Inc., Wellington, CO;
Terry Salmon, University of California Coop. Ext., San Diego, CA;
Robert Schmidt, Utah State University, Logan, UT;
Duane Schnabel, California Dept. of Food & Agriculture, Sacramento, CA;
Hans Sin, Utah State University, Logan, UT;
Robert Timm, UC Hopland Research & Extension Center, Hopland, CA;
Erick Wolf, Innolytics, LLC, Rancho Santa Fe, CA;

Brief Summary of Minutes

During the meeting opening remarks on November 8, 2005, Dr. David Thawley announced that the Western Coordinating Committee (WCC-95) - Vertebrate Pests of Agriculture, Forestry and Public Lands has been assigned a new code to reflect the integrated nature of the committee, as part of a regional restructuring of nomenclature. WCC-95 has been replaced by WERA-95. WERA is an acronym for Western Extension and Research Administrative Committee.

Business meeting call to order:
tHE Business meeting was called to order at 8:35 a.m. November 9, 2005 by John Eisemann, WERA-95 Vice-Chair. Minutes from the 2004 WCC-95 meeting were unanimously accepted as written.

Budget Report:
The budget report was prepared and submitted by John O'Brien following the conclusion of the meeting when all expenses had been accrued. Twenty-seven scientists, students and private business representatives attended the meeting. The meeting registration fees were $20 for students as decided at the 2004 meeting. The fee for all other attendees was set at $40. The budget report follows:

Balance from 2004 meeting $156.48
Income from the 2005 meeting * $980.00
Reimbursement from the VPC ** $249.94
Circus Circus Hotel Expenses for the 2005 meeting <$1157.68>
Other expenses (receipt book) <$7.94>
Balance from 2005 $220.80

* Five students attended the meeting. The $20 registration fee for students generated $100. Twenty-two non-students were in attendance and generated $880 at the registration fee of $40.

** John O'Brien reserved the meeting room at Circus Circus for three days: Tuesday, November 8, 2005; Wednesday, November 9, 2005; and Thursday, November 10, 2005. The WERA-95 meeting began at 1:00 p.m. on November 8. The Vertebrate Pest Council met in the Circus Circus facilities during the morning of November 8 and subsequently reimbursed the WERA-95 $249.94 for the use of the room.

Officer Elections:
Nominations - Scott Beckerman was nominated by Robert Schmidt to serve as WERA-95 secretary. The nomination was seconded, and no other candidates were nominated.
Election - Scott Beckerman was unanimously elected by verbal vote.


Generation of Additional Participation:
John Eisemann opened a discussion on how to generate more participation in the WERA-95. At last year's meeting, it was decided organize the meeting presentations around the theme of "Human Dimensions of Wildlife Damage Management." However that did not materialize. Several comments, questions and ideas were presented.

Symposium/Workshop:
Robert Timm informed the committee that the VPC had discussed conducting a symposium/workshop on secondary hazards of rodenticides. Following up on Robert Timm's comment, John Eisemann suggested a symposium on secondary hazards of pesticides as a project for the WERA-95. The idea generated significant discussion from attendees with ideas and questions on how to proceed. Topics included symposium/workshop goals, possible dates and locations, and other symposium/workshop considerations. Because of the need for planning and acquisition of funding, it was decided to hold the symposium in early 2007.

Robert Schmidt motioned to form a symposium planning committee. The motion was seconded and unanimously agreed upon by verbal vote. The volunteers were John Eisemann, Kathy Fagerstone, Dale Nolte, Terry Salmon and Robert Timm.

Date and Location for the 2006 WERA-95 Annual Meeting:
The date and location for the 2006 WERA-95 annual meeting were selected. The dates are November 7-9, 2006 and the meeting will be held at the Circus Circus Hotel in Reno, Nevada. The meeting will start at 1:00 p.m. on November 7, 2006 and end at 12:00 p.m. on November 9, 2006.

Topic for 2006 WERA-95 Annual Meeting: John Eisemann asked the attendees if they would like to identify a theme or topic for the next meeting. After several suggestions discussed, Robert Timm put forward a motion to have the theme for the 2006 meeting be "Impacts of Wildlife Damage, and Damage Assessment Techniques." The motion was seconded and unanimously agreed upon by verbal vote. It was also decided the 2006 annual meeting will be good timing to finalizing plans for the symposium.

Announcements:
John Eisemann announced the Larry Sullivan is requesting articles for The Probe, a newsletter of the National Animal Damage Association.

The meeting minutes and most up to date mailing list of WERA-95 attendees for this and recent years will be posted on the "Collaborative Tools" website at http://collaborate.ucanr.org. New attendees will also be added to the WERA-95 (WCC-95) group. If anyone is having problems accessing the site they should contact Terry Salmon.

Review of last year's action items:
A top priority for the 2005 annual meeting was to increase the participation. Attendance was increased from 22 in 2004 to 27 participants this year (2005). Student participation was also increased. Five students from Utah State University and the Berryman Institute were in attendance and contributed presentations on their research. Travel for the students was provided by the Berryman Institute. The reduce registration of $20 for students will continue. The "Collaborative Tools" mailing list was updated, although a few people were unable to access the WERA-95 (WCC-95) group. Bruce Menzel did pass along the 2005 meeting announcement, although he received the information on short notice. Personal invitations by regular attendees is an effective way to increase attendance. Several new participants attending the year's meeting had been encouraged to attend by current and previous participants.

ACTION ITEMS FOR FY06:
John Eisemann will draft a one or two paragraphs explaining the role of WERA-95 in an effort to communicate our mission to potential stakeholders, students, and other interested parties. Steven Vantassel will be contacted to update the website, including the addition of the explanation of the committee's role.

The newly formed symposium committee (John Eisemann, Kathy Fagerstone, Dale Nolte, Terry Salmon and Robert Timm) will plan a symposium/workshop on secondary hazards of vertebrate pesticides. The symposium is tentatively scheduled for early in 2007.

Accomplishments

The WERA-95 meeting continues to provide an effective and unique tool for information sharing among cooperative extension specialists and agents, university researchers, Federal and State government researches and operational biologists, industry representatives, students, and others in the field of wildlife damage management. As with last years meeting, there was reduced emphasis on formal presentations and an increase in discussion time. This provides more time to develop potential collaboration and/or coordinate assistance on current issues facing participants. <br /> <br /> The annual meeting is an important means to familiarize wildlife management students with a variety of wildlife damage issues, provide them the opportunity to network with other professionals working in the field, and to promote the field which has an increasing need for qualified specialists to address increasing wildlife conflicts. The successful student participation from Utah State University and the Berryman Institute demonstrates that WERA-95 can play a role in the professional development of future wildlife damage specialists as well as established specialists. WERA-95 should follow-up on this success by reaching out to college and university students in other western states. During the business meeting there was further discussion on ways to increase participation in the committee by established professionals, while maintaining the current format which is conducive to group interaction.<br /> <br /> The Committee has agreed to cooperate in planning a symposium/workshop on the secondary hazard of rodenticides to nontarget species. The event is planned for early 2007. The topic is timely as EPA is reviewing potential risks of rodenticides. The outcome of this review will have impacts for managing rodents in agriculture and forestry, on public lands, and in potential disease outbreaks. In July 2004, EPA issued the second draft of "Potential Risks of Nine Rodenticides to Birds and Nontarget Mammals: A Comparative Approach." EPA will likely require certain mitigation measures based on the outcome of the final review. Thus far, the review process revealed the lack of data to adequately ascertain the potential hazard to wildlife and domestic animals from secondary exposure to rodenticides. To date, EPA has not announced their intentions regarding what if any mitigation measures will be required, or a timeline for making any such determinations. The symposium/workshop will focus on the status of existing data, identify research needs, risk assessment techniques, and address issues related to regulation of rodenticides. <br /> <br /> Formal updates or project reports were provided by participants on eighteen topics at the meeting. In addition, each participant was given an opportunity to provide a brief summary of their current research or outreach activities, and solicited help or discussion from meeting participants. Participant response to this format remains very positive as a mechanism to foster collaborative efforts for rodenticide research, and will be continued at the next meeting.<br />

Publications

No publications were produced from the WERA-095 during the past year.

Impact Statements

1. The visibility of the WERA-95 Committee will be increased through collaboration on the planning of the symposium on secondary hazards of rodenticides.

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Report Information

Participants

Tamra Angle, HACCO, Inc., Randolph, WI;
Lefty Ayers, Heritage Wildlife Management, Fraizer park, CA;
Rex Baker, ROMAB Enterprises, Inc., Corona, CA;
Ken Ballinger, Airepel, Inc., Wilmington, DE;
John Eisemann, USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO;
Kathleen Fagerstone, USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO;
Julia Figueroa, USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO;
Harold Gain, Urban Wildlife Management, Inc., Burlingame, CA; Bruce Kimball, USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO;
Brain Lex, HACCO, Inc., Randolph, WI;
Scott McCalley, Liphatech, Inc., Vacaville, CA;
Alan Merrifield, Urban Wildlife Management, Inc., Burlingame, CA;
Dale Nolte, USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO;
John O'Brien, Nevada Dept. of Agriculture, Reno, NV;
Jeanette O'Hare, USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO;
Dennis Orthmeyer, USDA Wildlife Services California, Sacramento, CA;
Jay Paxon, University of Nevada Cooperative Ext., Elko, NV;
Terry Salmon, University of California Cooperative Ext., San Diego, CA;
Duane Schnabel, California Dept. of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento, CA;
Jennifer Seifert, HACCO, Inc, Randolph, WI;
Ray Sterner, USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO; David Thawley, University of Nevada, Reno, NV;
Robert Timm, UC Hopland Research & Extension Center, Hopland, CA;
Mark Tobin, USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO; Stephen Vantassel, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE

Brief Summary of Minutes

The business meeting was called to order at 8:35 a.m. November 8, 2006 by John Eisemann, WERA-95 Chair. Minutes from the 2005 WCC-95 meeting were unanimously accepted as written.

Budget Report: The budget report was postponed pending the arrival of John O'Brien. The budget report was prepared and submitted by John O'Brien following the conclusion of the meeting when all expenses had been accrued and totaled. Twenty-five scientists, students and private business representatives attended the meeting. The meeting registration fees were $20 for students as decided at the 2004 meeting. The fee for all other attendees was set at $30. The budget report follows: Balance from the 2005 meeting was $220.80; income from the 2006 meeting* was $740.00; reimbursement from the VPC** was $105.16; and Circus Circus Hotel expenses for the 2006 meeting*** were $530.42. The balance from the 2006 meeting was $535.54.


* Twenty-four wildlife professionals and one student attended the meeting. The total income from registration fees was $740.

** The Vertebrate Pest Council met in the Circus Circus meeting room during the morning of November 7 and subsequently reimbursed the WERA-95 $105.16 for the use of the room.

*** The WERA-95 meeting began at 1:00 p.m. on November 7. John OBrien reserved the meeting room at Circus Circus for three days: Tuesday, November 7, 2006; Wednesday, November 8, 2006; and Thursday, November 9, 2006. This year the meeting was shortened by one half day. Therefore the meeting room was not needed on November 9, 2006. The hotel adjusted the bill accordingly, and also waived the meeting room charge. Thus the expenses for this meeting were substantially less than usual.

Officer Elections: Scott Beckerman was unable to fill his elected tenure as a WERA-95 officer because of a new duty assignment. Therefore, two positions were open for election including Vice-Chair and Secretary. Duane Schnable was nominated by Ray Sterner for the office of Vice-Chair. The motion was seconded by Mark Tobin. Duane was unanimously elected by verbal vote. Mark Tobin nominated himself to serve as Secretary. John Eisemann seconded the nomination, and Bob Timm moved to close the nominations. Mark was also unanimously elected by verbal vote.

Generation of Additional Participation: John Eisemann opened a discussion on how to generate more participation in the WERA-95. This issue has been a recurring concern for the committee. This year's meeting did benefit from increased industry participation by pesticide product registrants. Other wildlife damage management industry sectors represented were distributors of nonlethal products, and wildlife control operators. Student participation was down this year. Administrative changes at the Berryman Institute (regular participants) disrupted usual communication routes. Consequently, none of their staff or students attended. One student was present form Colorado State University.

Initially the discussion centered on the purpose of WERA-95 and the contributions various participants make toward that end. WERA-95 serves as an important networking mechanism to facilitate appropriate research in wildlife damage management. The focus has traditionally been on rodent management. While rodents remain a focal point, the committee has also addressed broader wildlife management issues. Industry representation and collaboration is important to assist in developing appropriate research activities and possibly leverage funds. Students are the future practitioners in the field and provide insight into new research and trends. They benefit by networking with other wildlife damage management professionals, and are provided an opportunity to present their research.

Several suggestions to increase attendance were presented. 1) Renewing the relationship with the Berryman Institute to encourage student and faculty participation. 2) Identify emerging or "hot button" issues to address at the annual meeting. This may provide incentive to interested persons to participate in the meeting. 3) Continue to invite participants from the Vertebrate Pest Conference, as well as Agricultural Experiment Stations.

Topic for WERA-95, 2007 Annual Meeting: Following on the discussion of increasing participation at WERA-95, it was decided that a timely topic for the next meeting is "Emerging State and Federal Regulatory Issues Impacting Wildlife Damage Management." A specific issue of concern is the interaction of US Fish and Wildlife Service with USDA Wildlife Services. Also suggested as a discussion topic, was how best to facilitate the movement of products into the market place within the existing regulatory mechanisms. Recent meetings have not been planned around the themes selected during the preceding annual meeting. A proposal was presented to focus presentations and discussion around a theme during a portion of the meeting, rather than trying to focus on the theme for the entire meeting. Another suggestion was to invite specific speakers (i.e. EPA or FWS) to present abstracts.

WERA-95 2007 Annual Meeting Date and Location: The date and location for the 2007 WERA-95 annual meeting were selected. The dates are November 6-8, 2007 and the meeting will be held at the Circus Circus Hotel in Reno, Nevada. The meeting will start at 1:00 p.m. on November 6, 2007 and end at 12:00 p.m. on November 8, 2007.

Announcements: Bruce Menzel has retired from CSREES where he was the Fish and Wildlife National Program Leader. Bruce has been an active and valued participant in WERA-95 during his tenure. The committee agreed to submit a letter to CSREES to encourage that his vacated position be filled as soon as possible.

The meeting minutes and most up to date mailing list of WERA-95 attendees for this and recent years will be posted on the "Collaborative Tools" website at http://collaborate.ucanr.org. New attendees will be added to the WERA-95 group. Current members of the group were asked to update their e-mail address and other information on the website.

Review of last year's action items: 1) Update the Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management website to include current WERA-95 information. This website has been updated. This is an ongoing process that requires continual maintenance to keep the information current. 2) Formation of a symposium committee (John Eisemann, Kathy Fagerstone, Dale Nolte, Terry Salmon and Robert Timm) to plan a symposium/workshop on secondary hazards of vertebrate pesticides. The committee made a decision to coordinate a symposium on secondary hazards of vertebrate pesticides with the "Wildlife Damage Management Conference" on April 9-12, 2007 in Corpus Christi, TX. The symposium will attract participants also likely to attend the conference. This approach is logistically efficient and cost effective for both participants and sponsors.

ACTION ITEMS FOR FY07: 1) The secondary hazards of vertebrate pesticides symposium planning committee will approach Art Smith regarding the addition of a symposium to the meeting schedule of the Wildlife Damage Management Conference to be held April 9-12, 2007 in Corpus Christi, TX. 2) The committee agreed to submit a letter to encourage that Bruce Menzel's vacated position be filled as soon as possible.

Accomplishments

The WERA-95 meeting continues to provide an effective and unique tool for information sharing among cooperative extension specialists and agents, university researchers, Federal and State government researches and operational biologists, industry representatives, students, and others in the field of wildlife damage management. In keeping with the typical meeting format, there was an emphasis in discussion time and somewhat less focus on formal presentations. This provides more time to develop potential collaboration and/or coordinate assistance on current issues facing participants. <br /> <br /> The annual meeting is an important means to familiarize wildlife management students with a variety of wildlife damage issues, provide them the opportunity to network with other professionals working in the field, and to promote the field which has an increasing need for qualified specialists to address increasing wildlife conflicts. During the business meeting there was further discussion on ways to increase participation in the committee by established professionals, while maintaining the current format which is conducive to group interaction. The WERA-95 Committee will continue its practice to reach out to college and university students in other western states, agricultural experiment stations involved in wildlife damage research, industry representatives. <br /> <br /> Last year, the committee agreed to cooperate in planning a symposium/workshop on the secondary hazard of rodenticides to nontarget species. The event was tentatively planned for early 2007. In lieu of a separate symposium, the committee made a decision to coordinate a symposium on mitigating nontarget hazards (including secondary hazards) of vertebrate pesticides with the "Wildlife Damage Management Conference" on April 9-12, 2007 in Corpus Christi, TX. The symposium will attract participants also likely to attend the conference. The topic remains timely as EPA has reviewed potential risks of rodenticides, and published their proposed mitigation measures for public comment on January 17, 2007. This ongoing regulatory process will continue to have impacts for managing rodents in agriculture and forestry, on public lands, and in potential disease outbreaks. The planners of the Wildlife Damage Management Conference have been approached regarding the potential to host the symposium. As of this date, the symposium proposal has been accepted, and the schedule of invited speakers has been finalized. The symposium/workshop will focus on the risk mitigation measures, identify research needs, risk assessment techniques, and address issues related to regulation of rodenticides. <br /> <br /> Formal updates or project reports were provided by participants on twelve topics at the meeting. In addition, each participant was given an opportunity to provide a brief summary of their current research or outreach activities, and solicited help or discussion from meeting participants. Participant response to this format remains very positive because it fosters collaborative efforts for rodenticide research, and will be continued at the next meeting.<br />

Publications

No publications were produced from the WERA-095 during the past year.

Impact Statements

1. The nontarget hazard of rodenticides symposium will bring together key research and regulatory experts to address an important need for relevant scientific data used to inform regulatory decisions regarding the safe use of rodenticide products.

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Report Information

Participants

Rex Baker, ROMAB Enterprises, Inc., Corona, CA; James Dobrowolski, USDA CEREES, Washington D.C.; Kathleen Fagerstone, USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO; Thomas Hall, USDA APHIS Operational Support Staff, Fort Collins, CO; Charles Hathaway, Liphatech, Inc., Milwaukee, WI; Walter Howard, University of California WFCB, Davis, CA; Rex Marsh, University of California WFCB, Davis, CA; John O'Brien, Nevada Dept. of Agriculture, Reno, NV; Jeanette O'Hare, USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO; Tom Schmit, Liphatech, Inc., Milwaukee, WI; Duane Schnabel, California Dept. of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento, CA; Jon Shelgren, Sacramento, CA; Monty Sullins, Montana Dept.of Agriculture, Billings MT; David Thawley, University of Nevada, Reno, NV; Robert Timm, UC Hopland Research & Extension Center, Hopland, CA; Mark Tobin, USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO; Christi Yoder, USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO;

Brief Summary of Minutes

Accomplishments

The WERA-95 meeting continues to provide an effective and unique tool for information sharing among cooperative extension specialists and agents, university researchers, Federal and State government researches and operational biologists, industry representatives, students, and others in the field of wildlife damage management. In keeping with the typical meeting format, there was an emphasis in discussion time and somewhat less focus on formal presentations. This provides more time to develop potential collaboration and/or coordinate assistance on current issues facing participants. <br /> <br /> The annual meeting is an important means to familiarize wildlife management students with a variety of wildlife damage issues, provide them the opportunity to network with other professionals working in the field, and to promote the field which has an increasing need for qualified specialists to address increasing wildlife conflicts. Unfortunately, no students were in attendance this year. An increased effort was made prior to this meeting to invite universities and agricultural experiment stations, and industry and vertebrate pest control professional associations. While these efforts had limited success, the WERA-95 Committee will continue its practice to reach out to college and university students in other western states, agricultural experiment stations involved in wildlife damage research, industry representatives. Another effort going forward will include personal invitations to universities via active WERA-95 members and participants affiliated with other universities. CSREES may also have funding available to support student participation at the meeting.<br /> <br /> During the 2006 annual meeting, the committee agreed to cooperate in planning a symposium/workshop on the secondary hazard of rodenticides to nontarget species. The event was tentatively planned for early 2007. In lieu of a separate symposium, the committee made a decision to coordinate a symposium on mitigating nontarget hazards (including secondary hazards) of vertebrate pesticides with the Wildlife Damage Management Conference on April 9-12, 2007 in Corpus Christi, TX. The symposium was very successful, and focused on the proposed risk mitigation measures, risk assessment techniques, and addressed other issues related to regulation of rodenticides. The topic continues to be timely as EPA moves forward to implement rodenticide risk mitigation measures.<br /> <br /> <br /> Formal updates or project reports were provided by participants on nine topics at the meeting. In addition, each participant was given an opportunity to provide a brief summary of their current research or outreach activities, and solicited help or discussion from meeting participants. Participant response to this format remains very positive because it fosters collaborative efforts for rodenticide research, and will be continued at the next meeting.<br />

Publications

No publications were produced from the WERA-095 during the past year.

Impact Statements

1. A half-day symposium entitled "Reduction of Non-Target Hazards of Rodenticides" was held on April 10, 2007 at the Wildlife Damage Management Conference (WDMC) held April 9-12, 2007 in Corpus Christi, TX. The symposium brought together key research, conservation, regulatory, and agriculture and forestry, and industry sector representatives to address an important need for relevant scientific data used to inform regulatory decisions regarding the safe use of rodenticide products.

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Report Information

Participants

Christian Bagocius, Motomco/Bell Laboratories Madison, WI;
Rex Baker, ROMAB Enterprises, Inc., Corona, CA;
Roger Baldwin, UC Kearney Ag. Center, Parlier, CA;
Jerry Belant, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MI;
Craig Coolahan, USDA Wildlife Services - CA Sacramento, CA;
James Dobrowolski, USDA CEREES, Washington D.C.;
Kathleen Fagerstone, USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO;
Victoria Hornbaker, CDFA - Vertebrate Control, Sacramneto, CA;
Rex Marsh, University of California WFCB, Davis, CA;
John O'Brien, Nevada Dept. of Agriculture, Reno, NV;
Jeanette O'Hare, USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO;
Rober Schmidt, Utah State University, Logan, UT;
David Thawley, University of Nevada, Reno, NV;
Robert Timm, UC Hopland Research & Extension Center, Hopland, CA;
Mark Tobin, USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, CO; Dirk Van Vuren, University of California, Davis, CA;

Brief Summary of Minutes

The business meeting was called to order at 1:00 p.m. November 5, 2008 by Jeanette O'Hare, past WERA-95 Chair. Minutes from the 2007 WCC-95 meeting were unanimously accepted with one correction to the list of participants.

Budget Report: John O'Brien reported that there would be no registration fee for the 2008 meeting due to the excess funds from 2007 ($616.54). WERA-95 funds were voted (unanimously) to be used to pay 2008 meeting expenses, including meals, etc. on Tuesday evening; and that any remaining funds are to be transferred to the Vertebrate Pest Council for student support. The budget report was submitted following the meeting on December 15, 2008 and is summarized as follows: There was no income because there was no meeting registration fee. The budget report follows: Balance from the 2007 meeting was $616.54; reimbursement from the VPC* was $124.25; and Circus Circus Hotel expenses for the 2008 meeting were $174.73. Dinner expenses were $191.35. The balance from the 2008 meeting was $250.46.**


* The Vertebrate Pest Council will pay for the continental breakfasts on Tuesday morning prior to the beginning of the WERA-95 annual meeting. This totaled $124.25 with tax and service charge. There was no charge for the meeting room.

** Remaining funds are to be transferred to the Vertebrate Pest Council for student support.

Future of WERA-95: The group discussed the future of the committee and whether or not we should let the WERA-95 authorization expire. The discussion began the previous afternoon so that participants would have time to consider our options prior to making a decision during the business meeting.

David Thawley, WERA-95 Administrative Advisor, provided insight into how other 'WERAs' operate. Typically, WERAs provide mechanisms to coordinate activities and exchange information between colleagues. WERA-95 is unique in that our participants are from diverse sectors within the field of wildlife damage management. Most WERAs are comprised of approximately 80% academicians.

David Thawley also informed the attendees that the WERA authorization expires September 30, 2009. If we wish to seek approval to reauthorize the committee, we need to submit a proposal by January 1, 2009. If we decide to continue, we should really want to do it.

Mark Tobin opened the discussion of the future of WERA-95 by asking "What is the current purpose of the committee?" He noted that there are also many other meetings and specialties that serve to foster communication and collaboration.

Robert Schmidt suggested that WERA-95 reach out to conservation biologists. [Note: Yesterday's panel emphasized the shift of student interest toward conservation biology, but that wildlife damage management is really 'applied ecology'. Both fields deal with types of conflict resolution, particularly related to exotic species.]

Rex Marsh stated that WERA-95 has accomplished its original goal, and he believes that there is less need for the group at this time and that perhaps the committee has run its course.

Kathy Fagerstone commented that the WERA-95 meetings have been good and very beneficial over the years. However, now everyone is overstretched.

James Dobrowolski noted that some other WERAs align their meetings with larger or national meetings.

Rex Baker suggested a session be added to the Wildlife Damage Management Conference and/or Vertebrate Pest Conference in place of a formal WERA so that the collaboration can continue.

James Dobrowolski requested that if we decide to "sunset" the committee, and that we prepare a short summary of accomplishments for the report. After some discussion, it was decided that John O'Brien will begin a draft, and circulate it to other members with historical background of the committee so that they can contribute information.

A motion was made to NOT seek WERA-95 reauthorization, and to sunset the committee. The motion was seconded. The motion was approved unanimously.

ACTION ITEMS FOR FY09 1) A summary of WERA-95 accomplishments will be prepared for inclusion with the annual and final committee report, and also included with these minutes. See page 6. John O'Brien will initiate the draft, with input from other members. 2) Jeanette O'Hare volunteered to prepare the meeting report and minutes.

A motion to adjourn the meeting was placed on the floor. The motion was seconded, and approved unanimously by the attendees.

Accomplishments

WERA - 95 HISTORY AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS - January, 2009<br /> <br /> Background -<br /> What is now the Western Education/Extension and Research Activities (WERA-95) started out as a Western Regional Coordinating Committee (WRCC-42) entitled "Evaluation of Methods to Control Rodent Damage to Hay, Range and Grain Crops". The committees were monitored by CSREES (Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service) within USDA. David deCalesta, of the Oregon State University, initiated the action to start this committe. David served as the chairman for the first meeting held on the campus of the University of Nevada in Reno, December 11 & 12, 1980. Dr. Paul Tueller of the University of Nevada was the Administrative Advisor. The committee met annually, and David also chaired the 1981 meeting held at the same location.<br /> <br /> Such committees are formed, overseen, and operated under the auspices of the Western Regional Land-Grant Universities. David deCalesta had been involved in other such regional committees or regional research projects concerned with a different subject matter. He, therefore, was familiar with the mechanism for establishing such a group. It was hoped that this starting committee would evolve into a Regional Research Project, which could possibly result in some forthcoming research funding (Hatch funds) for the participants from land-grant universities. This hope was not realized-not from a lack of interest, but rather because too few university researchers were involved in studies of the type that would lend themselves to coordinated projects. It was believed, however, that the well attended meetings provided such an excellent and substantive means of exchanging current information on vertebrate pests and their management issues that they should continue as a coordinating committee. <br /> <br /> Administrative History -<br /> The Administrative Advisors of the WERA-95Committee are listed below: <br /> 1980-1981 Dr. Paul Tueller University of Nevada, Reno<br /> 1982 Dr. James Lyons University of California, Davis<br /> 1983 Dr. Leon J. Buist University of Nevada, Reno<br /> 1984-1988 Dr. Irwin W. Sherman University of California, Riverside<br /> 1989-1992 Dr. Nick C. Toscano University of California, Riverside<br /> 1993-1999 Dr. Grant Vest Utah State University, Logan<br /> 2000-2003 Dr. F.E. Busby Utah State University, Logan<br /> 2004-2008 Dr. David G. Thawley University of Nevada, Reno<br /> <br /> Activities and Accomplishments -<br /> During the 1980s there were numerous issues developing regarding the future of vertebrate pest management/animal damage control. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was involved in a number of important regulatory actions-reevaluating 1080 as a rodenticide and predacide, and reevaluating strychnine as a rodenticide were some of the critical issues. Several new rodenticides were coming on the scene and integrated pest management was beginning to capture increasing interest. There were a lot of actions, activities, and information to be exchanged and discussed by committee members from a variety of different professions, but all with a keen interest in vertebrate pest management. Most of the early meetings were devoted to the informal exchange of what research or activities were taking place at the respective attendees' institution, state or federal agency, or business enterprise. Round table discussions were held on the most meritorious subjects. Reports from participants often involved the following subjects: 1) Rodent damage assessment and evaluation; 2) Rodenticide development, use and efficacy; 3) Rodent biology and behavior; 4) New damage prevention and control strategies; 5) Pesticide registration and data requirements; and 6) Other related research and extension efforts. The committee members had a particular interest in the ramifications of passage of the 1988 amendments to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Under FIFRA 88, all pesticides containing an active ingredient first registered before November 1984 were required to be reregistered with the EPA within a 9-year period. In addition to imposing a 9-year reregistration period, FIFRA 88 greatly expanded data requirements for registering pesticides. Because the majority of vertebrate pesticides uses were minor uses as compared to insecticides and fungicides, it was feared that these use patterns would be lost due to the cost of data requirements. The WRCC committee was instrumental in bringing together private, state and federal vertebrate pesticide registrants to discuss common interests and collaborate in obtaining necessary data to maintain pesticide registrations. <br /> <br /> As a direct result of the contacts made and the knowledge made available at the WRCC meeting, 2 Consortia were established to generate funds to pay for reregistration data when none of the technical registrants could afford to produce these data. A consortium of private, State, and Federal registrants of strychnine was formed in 1988 to generate funds for strychnine reregistration and a similar consortium to generate funds for zinc phosphide reregistration was formed in 1991. Because of the consortia, data requirements were met and the registrations were maintained. <br /> <br /> During the later years, the committee continued discussions on vertebrate pest problems with increased emphasis on integrated pest management programs, strategies for dealing with bringing more students into the field. Other issues discussed included the loss of traditional control tools (traps and poisons), resolving conflicts between endangered species conservation and vertebrate pest control techniques, educating the general public on the importance of vertebrate pest control, and development of control chemicals that are socially and environmentally acceptable.<br /> <br /> The coordinating committee routinely submitted the required periodical petitions for its extension. In the process the committee reassessed its interests and reconfirmed its commitments, and as a result, was granted each extension. Over the years the committee went through several acronyms, numbers, and title changes. <br /> <br /> The title remained as WRCC-42 from its inception until 1992. In 1992, the Research Implementation Committee (RIC--the committee established by the Agricultural Administrators of the Western Region to oversee WRCC committees) denied the petition to extend the WRCC-42 for another 3-year period because the current activity was broader than rodents and rabbits. The RIC encouraged the committee to resubmit a petition addressing interests and activities on wider vertebrate pest control issues. The Committee was ultimately renewed under a new name that reflected a broader interest: WCC-95 Vertebrate Pests of Agriculture, Forestry and Public Lands. This committee was renewed again in 1996 for a 3 year period and in 1999 for a 5-year period. In 2004 the Committee was renewed for a 5 year period as the Western Extension and Research Administration Committee "WERA-95 Vertebrate Pests of Agriculture, Forestry and Public Land". <br /> <br /> Conclusion -<br /> After 29 years of annual meetings, some of the impetus for the continuance of the committee's existence was waning. After considerable forethought and discussion, on November 5, 2008 the attending members voted to dissolve its existence-in the belief that the committee had more than served its desired purpose through some very challenging periods. The needs of those involved in vertebrate pest management had changed. The reregistration process for vertebrate pesticides had been completed, new rodenticides had entered the market and much of the information transfer among scientists was taking place at two regularly scheduled conferences, the Vertebrate Pest Conference and the Wildlife Damage Management Conference held in alternate years. These meetings, although more formal, are now available to assist in carrying on the continued exchange of information. This committee served its members well by providing more informative and productive meetings for nearly three decades. Due in part to increasing demands on members' time and attention to other duties, it became more difficult to fill the program and sustain the attendance. It seemed an appropriate time for the dissolution of the group. <br /> <br /> We owe much to David deCalesta for his efforts in establishing this committee, to the administrative advisors of the committee, and to all the elected chairs and their officers who followed. Our sincere gratitude to an extraordinary member and tireless meeting facilitator, John O'Brien, who for so long has graciously devoted considerable time making the annual meeting arrangements. And an all inclusive thanks must go to the numerous attending committee members who have participated over the years. <br /> <br /> Kathleen A. Fagerstone, Past WRCC-95 Chair<br /> USDA/APHIS/WS National Wildlife Research Center<br /> 4101 LaPorte Ave.<br /> Fort Collins, CO 80521<br /> <br /> Rex E. Marsh, Past WRCC-42 Chair <br /> Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology<br /> University of California <br /> Davis, CA<br />

Publications

No publications were produced from the WERA-095 during the past year.

Impact Statements

1. The committee was instrumental in bringing together private, state and federal vertebrate pesticide registrants to discuss common interests and collaborate in obtaining necessary data to maintain pesticide registrations.
2. As a direct result of the contacts made and the knowledge made available at the WRCC meeting, two Consortia were established in 1991 to generate funds to pay for reregistration data for strychnine and zinc phosphide when none of the technical registrants could afford to produce these data. Because of the consortia, data requirements were met and the registrations were maintained.
3. WERA-95, under its different committee titles, fostered many individual collaborations to address a wide variety of research and management issues related to human/wildlife conflicts.

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