WERA95: Vertebrate Pests of Agriculture, Forestry and Public Lands
(Multistate Research Coordinating Committee and Information Exchange Group)
Status: Inactive/Terminating
WERA95: Vertebrate Pests of Agriculture, Forestry and Public Lands
Duration: 10/01/2004 to 09/30/2009
Administrative Advisor(s):
NIFA Reps:
Non-Technical Summary
Statement of Issues and Justification
Vertebrate animals cause billions of dollars of damage in agricultural, forest, wilderness, and urban settings every year. The diverse settings where damage is caused and the variety of animals causing damage make mitigation efforts difficult. To have the necessary tools available for pest control requires a concerted effort toward development, registration, training, and outreach. At a time when problems are increasing due to increased interface between humans and animals as well as invasive species incursions, the tools available for control are actually decreasing due to increased regulation and public demand.
WCC-95 exists to enable interactions between a variety of individuals interested in wildlife damage management. Members of the committee come from industry, academics, and government with expertise in areas including: product development, obtaining and maintaining pesticide and drug registrations, manufacturing, sales, operations, extension services, funding, outreach, and communications. Bringing together this group provides a venue for sharing ideas and information that aids in developing solutions to the problems posed by vertebrate pests.
Objectives
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1. Provide for communication and foster interaction between individuals interested in pest management, to allow for sharing knowledge of pest control techniques, needs for research, and educational opportunities.
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2. Disseminate information on vertebrate pest management issues to the public.
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3. Investigate the possibility of establishing a cooperative W committee to act in concert with the WCC-95 committee for collaborative research.
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4. Facilitate cooperative research and chemical registration projects between members and attendees of WCC-95, and develop and submit proposals for funding of specific wildlife damage projects.
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Procedures and Activities
Expected Outcomes and Impacts
- Information will be gathered on the need for pesticide registration to determine what efforts need to be made to maintain current registrations and submit new registrations.
- Areas of concern will be identified where future research could be focused.
- Information will be shared to allow meeting attendees to have up to date information for research, training, and outreach functions.
- The WCC-95 abstracts and minutes will be posted on the University of Nebraska Wildlife Damage Website for public access. (http://wcc-95.unl.edu).
- An electronic message tool will be in place for convenient communication among members to facilitate ongoing information efforts.
- Outcome/Impact 6; Students being trained in wildlife management will be exposed to up to date needs, research, and methods and have opportunities to present their own research; Outcome/Impact 7; Collaborative efforts in research, needs assessment, extension services, and training will be fostered;
Projected Participation
View Appendix E: ParticipationEducational Plan
Public awareness and access to information will be enhanced by incorporation of the committees work on the University of Nebraska Wildlife Damage Management internet site. The information shared at the meeting provides information that can be utilized to make bulletins and internet information provided by groups represented at the meetings more useful.
An annual meeting will be held to provide a way to keep all participants informed of current advances and concerns in wildlife damage management. The meetings will include presentations by invited speakers on specific topics as determined by attendees at the previous meeting. Students will continue to be welcomed at the meetings.
Email and committee bulletin boards will be used to share pertinent information and provide individual contact information for communication between meetings.
Organization/Governance
There are three elected offices in the WCC-95. The secretary is elected each year. The secretary becomes the vice-chair the following year, and the chair the year after that.
Chair
The chair presides over and conducts the year's activities; arranges the meeting agenda and arranges for invited speakers; and ensures that the meeting announcements, abstracts, and minutes are distributed.
Vice-chair
The vice-chair assists the chair as necessary and acts as chair in the chair's absence.
Secretary
The secretary keeps minutes and notes of the meetings; assembles the abstracts from the meeting; and provides a meeting summary to attendees of the meeting and other participants.