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Ongoing InitiativesThe Dialogue accomplishes its Vision and Goals through a Steering Committee and the following nine Dialogue Initiatives. If you are interested in becoming involved with one or more of the Dialogue initiatives use the link below to sign-up.
Dialogue Initiative DescriptionsPrevent Introduction Initiative – Faith CampbellThe Dialogue's Goal I: Improve federal, state, and provincial
programs so as to prevent new Non-Native Forest Insects and
Diseases from arriving on the continent by the year 2015. The
Prevention Initiative Team will focus on two pathways of
introduction: imports of living plants that can carry damaging
insects and diseases; and imports of wood packaging. Regarding
imports of living plants, the Team will encourage USDA APHIS to
move promptly to establish and utilize the NAPPRA category
proposed in the 2009 rulemaking and work with APHIS, the nursery trade, and other
stakeholders to advance the pending rulemaking that will
outline basic principles of pest-prevention (critical control
point?) programs that will be required of foreign suppliers of
plants. Presumably, these principles will be based on NAPPO RSPM#24. Address Phytophthora ramorum (Sudden Oak Death Pathogen) Initiative – Susan Frankel, Jerry Lee and Ken RauscherSuggested goals: Our P. ramorum initiative will work with private industry and public sector partners to encourage a collaborative, integrated effort to prevent the spread of P. ramorum to uninfested areas, and particularly to prevent its establishment in the wild in areas remote from current wildland/suburban/urban infestations. Toward this end, the initiative will 1) support and encourage APHIS and USFS actions to develop and implement a strategic plan at the national level to prevent P. ramorum movement into new wild areas (this may well begin as an expanded version of the planned APHIS-USFS framework); 2) support and encourage private sector, academic, and APHIS efforts to develop and implement effective and cost-effective systems approaches to prevent P. ramorum spread via nursery production; and 3) implement communications efforts to improve public and professional understanding of P. ramorum and to encourage actions to minimize the likelihood of pathogen spread via multiple pathways. Address Non-federal Quarantine Pests (NFQP) Initiative – Faith CampbellDialogue participants are becoming increasingly aware of pests or diseases that threaten "naïve" hosts (tree species which did not co-evolve with the insect or pathogen) that do not meet the definition of a "quarantine pest". In some cases, these damaging organisms have been introduced from abroad but USDA regulatory officials have declined to adopt programs targeting them because they have already become widespread, spread easily by natural means, or cause little damage in the region to which they were first introduced. Examples of such species include hemlock woolly adelgid, laurel wilt, Sirex woodwasp, and `ohi`a or Puccinia rust. In other cases, the pest or disease is native to one area of the United States, but appears to threaten severe damage to trees in another geographic area. Examples include gold-spotted oak borer and Thousand canker disease. The NFQP Team will work with USDA, states, relevant industries, and other stakeholders to explore ways to respond to the threat posed by such pests and diseases. Possible responses might include state regulations (possibly supported by USDA recognition of such programs as "official control" or "special needs"); industry best management practices; or greater flexibility in applying criteria governing federal regulatory programs. Citizen Science Survey Programs Initiative – Leigh GreenwoodThe core mission of the Citizen Science Survey Programs Initiative is to increase and enhance citizen involvement in existing volunteer survey programs for invasive forest pests in order to help preserve and improve the health of North American forests. Engaging citizen volunteers can help reinforce their ownership of both the forests and the solutions to the pests that threaten the forests. Citizen volunteers include individuals and/or their organizations that fall in not-for-profit categories (e.g. student groups, civic organizations, youth groups, Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists, etc). The Initiative’s main objectives are to:
Citizen Science Curriculum Initiative – Jodie EllisThe Citizen Science Curriculum Initiative will further the Dialogue’s goals by facilitating public education about invasive forest pests and pathogens while encouraging volunteers’ participation in early detection/rapid response initiatives of federal and state agencies and other such programs aimed at protecting the health of North American forests. This could be accomplished by creating, enhancing, or supporting structured programs about invasive forest pests and pathogens for volunteer groups, such as student and civic organizations, youth groups, Master Gardeners, Master Naturalists, conservation groups, etc. The Initiative is interested in cataloging existing educational programs about forest pests and pathogens as well as the various resources available for these educational programs. The group will then review existing programs and resources, assess regional and national needs, and identify initial opportunities for partnership with citizen volunteer groups Engage Industry on Communications and Education Initiative – Jodie EllisOur Engage Industry on Communications and Education Initiative works to support the Dialogue’s goals and other initiatives. In the context of this Initiative, “industry” refers to groups of for-profit companies and trade associations that can prevent the introduction and spread of these forest pests and pathogens (e.g., the firewood industry, the forest products industry, the nursery industry, and large box retailers) or are involved in responding to these pests and pathogens as they spread (e.g. arborists and pesticide manufacturers). The Initiative accomplishes this by:
The Initiative is discussing industry labeling and certification programs as well as opportunities to engage with the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and specific retailers to educate retailers and consumers about preventing the introduction and spread of forest pests and pathogens. Other possible future activities could include putting together an effort to improve risk communication; seeking to build upon selected retailers’ and RILA’s interest in the Dialogue; engaging municipalities, and; engaging woodland landowners. Enhance Federal Funding Initiative – Faith CampbellAchieving the Dialogue's three Goals pertaining to preventing introduction of new pests and containing or eradicating those pests and diseases that have been introduced depends to a significant extent on ensuring adequate funding for federal agencies responsible for these activities. The lead agencies are USDA APHIS and USDA Forest Service; although important contributions are made by USDA Agriculture Research Service, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and other agencies. The Funding Initiative Team will work with other stakeholders to educate Administration and Congressional officials about the importance of providing sufficient funding for the relevant programs - through a combination of Congressional appropriations, releases of emergency funds, user fees [e.g., AQI fees], and other sources. Success Stories Initiative – TBDAn important aspect of securing funding for invasive species initiatives is demonstrating that these programs have a high probability of success when given adequate resources. It is also important to remind the general public and those engaged in natural resource management that, though difficult, efforts to control or eradicate invasive species can be successful when combined with innovative approaches and sufficient involvement from stakeholders. The goal of the Success Stories Initiative is to gather examples of invasive species programs that have successfully mitigated a significant threat to North American forest resources and to turn these stories into one page flyers detailing those achievements. These flyers will be developed using a common template and will give a background to each story, highlight the factors that made each project successful, and will highlight the states affected by the problem in question. The long term goal of this group is to build a library of these success stories which can be used to educate legislators and funding sources about the importance of providing adequate resources to battle invasive species. To date, the group has finalized a general template for use in the stories and has developed documents detailing the eradication of the plum pox virus from Pennsylvania, the suppression of pink hibiscus mealybug populations in California, Florida, Texas, and Louisiana using Biocontrol agents, and the prevention of a significant range expansion of the hemlock woolly adelgid into Michigan. Dialogue members are encouraged to submit their own stories of success to the group for the creation of additional documents. Promote, Maintain, and Expand the Don’t Move Firewood (DMF) Website Initiative – Jodie Ellis and Leigh GreenwoodIn today’s noisy media environment, building a unified brand is particularly important to success in influencing behavior. The Don’t Move Firewood (DMF) campaign has to date reached approximately 6 million Americans with a unified brand and design, winning multiple awards and recognition. Our objective is to place the brand at the service of the phytosanitary community as a whole, greatly increasing the effectiveness of outreach on firewood movement. The Don’t Move Firewood initiative will seek funding to continue and expand the Don’t Move Firewood web-based campaign. Depending on available funding the activities to be pursued may include:
Firewood Outreach Coordinating Initiative - Ann Gibbs and Leigh GreenwoodThe Firewood Outreach Coordinating Initiative (FOCI) serves as a clearinghouse of the firewood outreach efforts of Federal, Tribal, and State governments, non-governmental organizations, industry, extension services, and academic institutions. By leveraging these outreach efforts, participating organizations will be better able to coordinate their efforts and identify and act on collaborative opportunities. The organizations involved in the Initiative use their resources to amplify and infuse key messages into firewood outreach activities throughout the country. The Initiative is intended to serve as a venue for individuals actively engaged in firewood outreach activities to share what they are doing and hear about others’ efforts as well.
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