Project Overview

Reports

Commodities

• Natural Areas: forestry (conifer), forestry (hardwood)

Target Pests

Practices

• Pest Management: biological control, chemical control, cultural control, exclusion, habitat modification, mechanical control, monitoring/scouting, pesticides, prevention, traps, weed ecology

• Crop Production: agroforestry, forest farming, forest/woodlot management, forestry

• Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity

• Soil Management: soil quality/health

• Sustainable Communities: public participation, quality of life, sustainability measures, urban agriculture

Forest health affects everyone through direct and indirect ways; we use forests for food, recreation, cultural and spiritual activities. Healthy forests also promote healthy agriculture, increasing crop yields and providing ecosystem services to all. Integrated pest management has been a pillar of forest health for more than a century, but the long lifespan of both trees and their pests presents unique challenges to adopt and maintain IPM in forested settings. Despite the interconnectedness of forests with all other systems, the closeness of public stakeholders to forest health, and the need for adoption of IPM, there is no Working Group currently established to focus on promoting and improving IPM in forests of the North Central region. To solve this problem, we will create the first North Central IPM Center Working Group that will focus solely on the intersection of IPM and forest health. Using Ohio as a pilot state, we will conduct three in-person field days in the different forested areas of the state, measuring participants’ opinions and knowledge gained throughout each field day. Because of the global impact of forests and the unique involvement of public stakeholders in the forest management process, we will make these field days open to everyone and invite a wide variety of participants including K-12 educators, landscape professionals, pesticide applicators, arborists, and members of the public. Throughout these field days we will consult with Working Group members to develop presentations on forest health issues and demonstrations of IPM techniques in forest systems. By the end of the field days, we expect to produce at least one peer-reviewed publication describing the field days and the changes in stakeholder attitudes and knowledge, as well as one presentation at the North Central Forest Pest Workshop which is attended by university, state and federal agency representatives, and non-profit partners. We also expect to produce a guide for other North Central states to use to develop and conduct their own field days based on their respective forest regions and unique forest health issues. We predict that these field days will have a significant positive impact on the attitudes of participants towards the use of IPM in forests. We predict that participants will also gain a significant amount of knowledge in IPM principles as well as specific methods used in forest management. Finally, we expect that participants will take this knowledge gained and educate those in their circles, thereby expanding our impact significantly.

1. Increase communication and collaboration between forest health professionals and stakeholders.
2. Effectively educate and train students and stakeholders in IPM principles on forest lands.