Duration: 10/01/2021 to 09/30/2026

Administrative Advisor(s):

NIFA Reps:

Non-Technical Summary

Statement of Issues and Justification

The northeastern region of the United States is comprised of twelve states (CT, DE, ME, MA, MD, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT, and WV) with extremely diverse agricultural practices, ecosystems, and land use patterns. Research and extension personnel similarly have diverse backgrounds and focus areas, reflecting the diverse needs of Northeastern stakeholders. Indeed, research and extension personnel improve pest management and increase IPM adoption in various agricultural and public settings including crop fields, public health establishments, schools, housing and other structures, livestock, wildlife, and natural areas. Coordinating and sharing IPM approaches, successes, and difficulties among state personnel is central to the development of new ideas and collaborations that results in the development of more economically and environmentally sustainable pest management strategies that reduce risk to applicators, stakeholders, non-target organisms and the environment. Members of this group (currently designated NEERA1604, formerly NEERA1004) consist of IPM coordinators and extension personnel throughout the Northeast (including those of the Northeast IPM Center) and represent a wide range of IPM programs and expertise. By sharing information, we improve the quality and efficiency of IPM programming in the Northeast. There are also many new IPM personnel in the Northeast Region who stand to benefit greatly from interacting with colleagues of diverse expertise and experiences (whose programs also benefited from their participation in NEERA coordinating committee activities).

The extension arm of the land-grant university acts as a two-way bridge with stakeholders fostering dialogue necessary to develop feasible solutions, share innovations, and maximize IPM adoption. IPM specialists work together to identify knowledge gaps and emerging issues to address stakeholder-identified priorities. Such regional coordination facilitates rapid response and timely dissemination of information.

Northeast regional applied research and extension priorities include but are not limited to: 

1. Increase collaboration among regions to synergize resource use, identify new funding sources, coordinate research and extension efforts.
2. Create standardized IPM performance metrics.
3. Support region-wide weather-based decision support systems (e.g. NEWA) and cross-regional collaborations (e.g. IPM PIPE).
4. Improve resiliency in the face of climate change and provide resources that improve understanding of climate change and its effects on pest management. 
5. Reduce threats to wild and managed pollinators including loss of habitat, pesticides, and diseases/parasites, as well as increase resources dedicated to pollinator health. 
6. Improve understanding of and mitigate pesticide resistance.
7. Address challenges created by emerging and invasive pests such as spotted lanternfly, Asian longhorn tick, boxwood blight, palmer amaranth, Hydrilla verticillata, tar spot of corn, and more.
8. Address public health issues including ticks and tick-borne disease (spreading in the Northeast) and other vector borne illnesses, as well as structural pests that can increase asthma and risk of human exposure to pesticides.  
9. Address legislative and regulatory issues associated with pesticides. 
10. Support IPM adoption for weed, disease and arthropod pests in schools, agricultural, natural, urban and rural settings    
11. Deliver materials that benefit diverse stakeholders in multiple languages and cultural traditions.
12. Train next generation IPM practitioners. 
13. Create resources for stakeholders seeking to integrate biocontrol, non-chemical alternatives and reduced-risk pesticides into their pest management program

 Working groups addressing regional issues and inform and contribute to NEERA priorities include but are not limited to: 

1. Northeastern weeds IPM working group, https://www.northeastipm.org/working-groups/northeastern-weeds/
2. Spotted lanternfly working group, https://www.northeastipm.org/working-groups/spotted-lanternfly/ and StopSLF.org
3. The Scientific Coalition of Pest Exclusion (SCOPE2020), https://www.northeastipm.org/working-groups/scope-2020/ and pestexclusion.org
4. Invasive Hardy Kiwi (Actinidia arguta) working group
5. School IPM working group, https://www.northeastipm.org/working-groups/schools/

6. Tree fruit IPM working group, https://www.northeastipm.org/working-groups/tree-fruit/

7. Vegetable and small fruit IPM working group, https://www.northeastipm.org/working-groups/vegetable/

8. Spotted wing drosophila working group, https://www.northeastipm.org/working-groups/spotted-wing-drosophila/

      9. NE1832: Biological control of arthropod pests and weeds,  https://www.nimss.org/projects/view/mrp/outline/18479

 The NEERA1604 committee improves interdisciplinary communication and cooperation among IPM specialists, which facilitates interdisciplinary and multistate projects, improves evaluation of program impact, and helps deliver innovative and timely sustainable pest management solutions.

Objectives

Procedures and Activities

1. The chairperson organizes an annual meeting to discuss important issues, share experiences and plans, devise regional responses to national issues, and coordinate collaborative multi-state activities. Each state provides an annual report from which highlights are discussed with the group. The annual meeting also includes reports from IPM Working Groups administered by the Northeastern IPM Center.
2. The chairperson and chairperson-elect serve on the National IPM Coordinating Committee.
3. The past, current and elect chair of the NEERA group serve on the Northeastern IPM Center Advisory Council.
4. Representatives of EPA and SARE-NE are active participants with NEERA. The SARE-NE grants program technical review panel usually includes a representative from NEERA.
5. A group email list is used to communicate among NEERA participants as issues arise through the year.

Expected Outcomes and Impacts

Projected Participation

View Appendix E: Participation

Educational Plan

Priorities within individual states drive in-state educational planning.  NEERA provides the forum for linking resources and activities to augment those programs with resources and expertise from multiple states.

 

IPM Working Groups within the Northeast region actively networking

• Brown marmorated stink bug
• New England Tree Fruit IPM Working Group (Multi-state and Canadian province workshop scheduled or October 2022)
• Municipal Rodents Working Group School IPM
• Spotted lanternfly
• Spotted wing drosophila
• Tarping and Soil Solarization Weed Control Working Group
• The Scientific Coalition of Pest Exclusion (SCOPE2020)
• Vegetable and Small Fruit

Multi-state webinars

• Fire blight management (hosted by Univ. NH)
• Tree Fruit Friday forums (hosted by Univ. NH)
• Winter Tree fruit webinars (hosted by Univ. MA)

Continuation of regional publications & workshops

• New England Vegetable Guide
• New England Small Fruit Guide
• ME-NH-VT annual greenhouse IPM program

           

Topics for regional collaboration

• Asian longhorned beetle
• Asian longhorned tick
• Boxwood blight
• Browntail moth
• Climate change risk assessment and adaptation planning for agricultural IPM
• Hemlock wooly adelgid
• Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata)
• Insect pollinator conservation
• Integrating biocontrol and reduced-risk pesticides
• IPM training materials for underserved communities and multiple languages
• IPM curriculum for public education, Consumer IPM education 
• Palmer amaranth
• Public housing structural IPM
• Regional weather-based decision support systems (NEWA, AgRadar, IPM PIPE)
• Regulatory interfaces with pesticides and other IPM tactics
• Soybean IPM concerns (e.g. soybean rust, herbicide-resistant weeds, etc.)
• Small scale, diversified, and organic agriculture IPM
• Spanish language IPM and pesticide safety materials
• Serving Beginner, Physically challenged, and Immigrant farmer audiences
• Standardizing and harmonizing IPM performance metrics
• Tick vectors and tick-borne diseases
• Training the next generation of IPM practitioners

Organization/Governance

The NEERA chair position rotates around the 12 participating states.  Chairperson duties consist of organizing the agenda and logistics for the annual meeting, collecting and submitting reports, serving on the National IPM Coordinating Committee and the Northeastern IPM Center Advisory Council, and assisting the incoming chairperson for continuity.  Chairpersons also collaborate with the Northeastern IPM center and the USDA National Institute of Agriculture to address issues important to NEERA members.

 The 2020, 2021, and 2022 meetings were held virtually.  Prior to that, in-person meetings have been held in conjunction with other IPM-related meetings (e.g. International IPM Symposium, American Phytopathological Society, Entomological Society of America, Weed Science Society of America, national and eastern-branch meetings).  

Literature Cited

Attachments

Land Grant Participating States/Institutions

CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT

Non Land Grant Participating States/Institutions