Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Bret Hess Update

• No Admin Advisor selected yet for the WERA 1017 project
• Funding likely to remain flat for CPPM this year, but strong indication that additional funding in the new Farm Bill for deferred maintenance on agricultural research infrastructure. Leading this discussion in the house ag committee is Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson from Pennsylvania, and on the senate side is Debbie Stabenow from Michigan

NIFA update (Vijay Nandula)

• Vijay is now acting director with Rubella's departure to 4-H
• FY 24 EIP awards are complete

State Reports

State Reports provided by: Univ of Nevada (Jensen), Univ of Wyoming (Arndt), Colorado State (Szczepaniec), Montana State (Straub), Washington State (Walsh), Univ of Idaho (Wickwar), Utah State (Murray), New Mexico State (Lujan), Univ of Arizona Ag IPM (Fournier), Univ of Arizona School IPM (Gouge), Univ of California (Farrar), Oregon State (Stock), Oregon IPM Center (Rondon), Univ of Alaska (Matney).

Participants presented highlights of the current research and extension activities from their state at this year’s annual meeting. Presentations were formatted so that “highs,” “lows,” and “buffaloes” were shared, as a means of generating new ideas, reporting shifts in focus, and generating new opportunities for greater coordination of activities.

Focus Presentations

Pest Friends Part II (Jason Thomas and Grant Loomis - University of Idaho)

• Awarded first prize from National Extension Educators Society and currently conducting WSARE grant tour and training through the states of Idaho, Montana, Utah, Alaska, Hawaii, and Wyoming.
• In development are game expansions including decisions on weeds and pollinators, a version for children, and an online version.
• Surveying participants found that 98% had a change in mindset such as focusing more on scouting and research.
• Carrie Jensen has used as part of the pesticide applicator and master gardener training.

Bumble Bee Atlas Project (Amy Dolan amy.dolan@xerces.com - conservation biologist at The Xerces Society and coordinator for the Mountain States Project)

• A community science project in partnership with state and federal agencies to train volunteers (mostly Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists) on collecting bumble bee observational data.
• Twenty states involved – some are regional efforts covering the Pacific Northwest and Mountain States, and others are state-specific like California.
• Some work on translating materials into Spanish.
• More info available at org

Monitoring Western Butterflies (Matt Forister – University of Nevada Reno)

• Butterfly abundance data from transect from coastal California to Nevada boarder over 50+ years shows:
• A decline in the populations in the Sacramento valley in 90's possibly related to neonic use.
• A decline in populations the mountains in the 2000s, probably related to mega drought.
• Pesticide residues on plants in ditches and margins and even in conservation habitats are a consistent problem.
• Best predictor of butterfly decline was increase in fall temperatures.
• These declines may lead to more listings as threatened or endangered.

Collaboration Brainstorming Prompts (Project Objectives):

1. Increase participants’ skills, knowledge, and awareness of regional/national IPM issues, systems, and strategies.
2. Serve as a platform and feedback body to promote Multi-State and transdisciplinary IPM research and Extension, and help connect outputs/outcomes with key user groups.
3. Enhance collaboration, sharing of ideas, and creation of regional outputs such as Multi-State grants and shared outreach materials.
4. Improve coordination of IPM research and outreach programs that address on-going, emerging, and other critical pest and related environmental issues.

Participants brainstormed ideas for improved collaboration/coordination and organized them by the above prompts. Discussions will continue at our next meeting in March 2025.

Next WERA-1017 in San Diego March 3, 2025 (hosted by Tim Seipel). Wyoming will host the WERA 1017 meeting in July 2026.

The overarching goal of the WERA1017 committee is to enhance IPM adoption and impact within the western states and Pacific Basin Territories. The group’s efforts over the past years highlight the value of a joint, comprehensive approach to address this goal and to serve as a forum for discussion and communication with broader regional and national entities. Progress over the past year toward completion of project objectives includes the following:

Objective 1: Increase participants’ skills, knowledge, and awareness of regional/national IPM issues, systems, and strategies.

Examples of the project-related activities, outputs, and outcomes are as follows:

• Many states do not have a school IPM program. Oregon State University School IPM Program shared pest issues in schools and school IPM implementation strategies with colleagues and stakeholders from other states. They conducted 11 hands-on school IPM coordinator training events throughout the state that reached over 97% of Oregon’s 197 school districts (1,200 schools), representing over half a million students. They also co-created outreach publications with school IPM coordinators, using a cadre of participant/peer-trainers at School IPM Program training events, as well as professionals from a county health department, the Oregon Department of Agriculture, and the OSU Turf Management Program.

• Peter Ellsworth and team at University of Arizona have realized the full potential of integrating chemical and biological control in cotton by developing “Inaction Thresholds,” which are based on levels of important endemic predators that are sampled and counted alongside pests. This past year or so, they have seen enthusiastic adoption among Pest Control Advisors (PCAs) in Arizona and California at a series of hands-on workshops. Pre and post surveys of participants showed an 84% increase in respondents who “always” consider predators when timing whitefly sprays. The health of the natural control system is reflected in results of the 2023 Cotton Pest Losses survey, a Signature Program of the Western IPM Center. In 2023, growers averaged only 0.58 insecticide sprays for all arthropod pests on a statewide basis, the lowest levels in recorded history. Over 67% of all cotton acreage did not receive a single foliar spray for arthropod pests. In completing the integration of biological with chemical controls, growers choose products that have been shown to be fully selective and safe to these beneficial predators on more than 90% of their acreage.
• The Public Health IPM Team at University of Arizona, led by Shujuan (Lucy) Li, brings together faculty expertise across disciplines to address IPM, vector management to reduce public health pests, and food safety issues for underserved audiences. This work reaches often remote audiences in 17 out of 22 tribal nations and communities in Arizona and bordering states. At least four tribes have adopted IPM within their disease-prevention programs, protecting over 24,300 tribal residents from illnesses such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and West Nile virus that can be spread from brown dog ticks and mosquitoes, respectively.

Objective 2: Serve as a platform and feedback body to promote multi-state and transdisciplinary IPM research and extension, and help connect outputs/outcomes with key user groups.

WERA 1017 members share their expertise and ideas with other states, broadening the scope and reach of IPM programing and minimizing duplication of effort. Some examples include:

• IPM Infrastructure Survey, Outreach, and Journal of IPM Article

WERA-1017 members in every state participated in a national survey intended to document the current level of investment in Integrated Pest Management programs at Land Grant colleges. The national survey, developed and implemented under the leadership of Daren Mueller, a professor and Extension plant pathologist at Iowa State University, had an unprecedented 100% response rate, representing data from all state IPM programs funded through the USDA NIFA Crop Protection and Pest Management Extension Implementation Program. This collaborative effort resulted in a presentation at the National IPM Coordinating Committee meeting and development of a scientific article submitted in September 2024 to the Journal of IPM. Many members of WERA-1017 are coauthors on the paper. A major goal of this effort is to establish the needs and shortcomings of federal support for state IPM programs and to further a discussion toward enhancing future resources.

• Resistance Management, IPM, and Cancer: Transdisciplinary approach

This research, conducted at the University of Arizona, reflects the transdisciplinary nature of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), bridging pest control and oncology by addressing the challenge of resistance and managing disease. Just as pesticides can select for resistant insect populations, cancer treatments often select for drug-resistant cells, posing a major hurdle for effective, long-term management in both fields. By translating IPM’s ten principles of resistance management into oncology, researchers have provided new insights for controlling cancer. For cancer treatments, they suggest a paradigm shift towards adaptive therapy, where resistance is managed, not simply reacted to, much like in pest control. The outputs of this transdisciplinary research engage key user groups, including pest managers, medical professionals, and clinical trial designers, with broad implications. By applying the best practices from IPM, the ultimate outcomes aim to increase progression-free survival and enhance the quality of life for cancer patients. Through research and extension, this novel IPM approach may influence both agriculture and healthcare, underscoring the vital need for collaborative, cross-sector solutions. Two WERA-1017 participants and University of Arizona faculty, Peter Ellsworth and Dawn Gouge, participated in this long-term dialogue with cancer scientists, culminating in an article in the journal Cancer Research (Seyedi et al. 2024).

• The Montana State University IPM program has participated in Pest Management Strategic Plans for Pulse Crops and Wheat in recent years. They participate in regional and national committees including WERA-97, WERA-1017, the NCIPMC’s Pulse Crop Working Group, etc. to provide feedback to agencies. They are actively involved with the Northern Plains Weed Management Symposium and the Great Plains Diagnostic Network and host the annual webinar series.

Objective 3: Enhance collaboration, sharing of ideas, and creation of regional outputs such as multi-state grants and shared outreach materials.

The following are examples of WERA 1017 associated collaborative activities:

• Cultivating Healthy Plants webinar series is an IPM webinar series provided collaboratively by the Utah, Nevada, Idaho, and Montana IPM programs. The target audience is green industry professionals, master gardeners, and the general public. Eight webinars were provided this past year to a total of 2,182 live viewers (48% increase over the previous year), with 1,285 views of the recordings; 98% reported improved knowledge as a result of attendance, and 90% intend to use at least one of the recommended IPM strategies. The group is also working on a central place to house the webinar series and associated content. https://www.youtube.com/@CultivatingHealthyPlants and https://www.cultivatinghealthyplants.org/
• Colorado State University IPM Team participates in regional activities in collaboration with Kansas State University and University of Nebraska to advance IPM implementation in wheat. These collaborations have resulted in leveraging grant funds and Extension/outreach publications and events across the regions. Beyond the state’s involvement in WERA 1017, they are also involved in NCERA 224, a multi-state working group focused on IPM of ornamental crops, and S1084 a multi-state working group focused on hemp pest suppression.
• The University of Idaho IPM program is leading the revision of the Pest Management Strategic Plan for Western Sugar Beets, which has been a key step in providing growers and policymakers across the West, and at the national level, with important updated information on the pest management practices and challenges of growers across Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado.
• University of Idaho is working with regional and national collaborators to conduct a needs assessment survey for wildlife damage management. This survey, co-led by emeritus faculty Ronda Hirnyck worked with members of the National Pesticide Safety Education Center to gather data from all 50 states, collating data from 99 experts in the Western region alone.
• Reducing Pesticide Risk in U.S. Cotton Production

WERA-1017 has a long history of facilitating discussion and sharing of research and outreach on the topic of reduced-risk IPM. For several years, Paul Jepson of Oregon State University (now retired) convened the group around topics of reducing pesticide risks through the reduction or elimination of highly hazardous pesticides from IPM programs. This led to ongoing research and outreach collaborations between OSU and University of Arizona examining the reduction in risk related to pesticide use in lettuce production over two decades and culminated in a Pesticide Risk Management Signature Program of the Western IPM Center.  

• Collaborations to Support Growers and Community IPM Across Western States

Two new regional collaborations were proposed and integrated into state applications for USDA-NIFA-CPPM Extension Implementation Program funding: (1) a multistate community IPM needs assessment led by Arizona and (2) a multistate effort led by Utah State University to develop training resources for Extension IPM and Pesticide Safety Education Program personnel that will support growers as they adapt to new pesticide use mitigations related to the Endangered Species Act. These collaborations involve University of Arizona, Utah State University, Oregon State University, and others. These collaborations, facilitated through WERA-1017 interactions, help extend the reach and impact of our work as individual Land Grant institutions and minimize duplication of effort.

Objective 4: Improve coordination of IPM research and outreach programs that address on-going, emerging, and other critical pest and related environmental issues.

The work of WERA-1017 is important because it brings together IPM Coordinators who manage independent IPM programs from many states. While all programs receive some base funding from USDA-NIFA’s Extension Implementation Program (EIP), programs have different organizational structures and address unique IPM priorities specific to each state. The opportunity to share information, ideas, resources, and outcomes helps to invigorate and inspire individual state programs which, without this Regional Coordinating Committee, would be operating largely in isolation. Our report has provided examples of WERA-1017 interactions that have inspired collaborative research and outreach projects which have strengthened the programs of all participating states. Common issues impact us all: invasive species, pesticide resistance, fostering adoption of IPM and documenting its impact. These annual meetings and resultant collaborations make us more than a scattered and disconnected collection of Extension IPM Programs; they facilitate a vibrant network that is vitally important to the continuity and impact of regional and national IPM outcomes. This network is of particular importance because it allows veteran IPM personnel with long-standing programs and experience to support incoming IPM Coordinators, who often have little if any information from their own institutions about how to build effective, state-based IPM programs.

Plans for the coming year: Some members of WERA-1017 as well as Western IPM Center staff attended the 2024 National IPM Coordinating Committee meeting in Washington, D.C. They have committed to putting together a series of written works that will document what an IPM Coordinator is and does and how this influences the development of state IPM programs. This will serve both as onboarding information for new IPM Coordinators and as a means for IPM Coordinators to educate their own university administration about their role and function supporting state IPM while maintaining connections to a federal network and addressing federal priorities.