Project Overview

Reports

Commodities

Target Pests

Practices

This is an Outreach and Implementation project that will focus on two populations: an underserved community (an incarcerated population) located at the newly built Utah State Correctional Facility (USCF) surrounded by rural, remote, wetland habitats near the Great Salt Lake in Salt Lake City (SLC), Utah and an alternative high school, Summit Innovations School (SIS), in Jackson, Wyoming. The new USCF became operational in July 2022 and with the opening of the facility issues and concerns regarding mosquitoes became apparent. The SIS is an alternative high school that empowers students to build academic, social, and emotional skills to successfully navigate their lives and community with the primary aim of creating job opportunities for students after graduation. However, local mosquito populations and the threat from mosquito-borne diseases are a nuisance and health concern to the community, including students and families, inmates, prison correctional staff, and visitors who lack the proper preventive and protection measures.

Through this project, the Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District (SLCMAD) and Teton County Weed and Pest Control District (TCWP) aims to increase the adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), primarily targeting mosquitoes, by educating students, inmates, and correctional staff about IPM. An educational program within the USCF will be created to educate inmates and staff about mosquitoes, mosquito-borne pathogens, IPM, and the wetland habitats (ecology, biology, environmental science) surrounding the prison. An education program developed for the students at SIS will grow young professionals interested in biology, entomology, public health, mosquitoes and vectors, the environment, and other science-related fields. The IPM educational program at SIS will increase the professional workforce in mosquito and vector control through training and teaching, therefore preparing students for jobs after graduation. Wyoming is also an Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) state and this proposed project will increase opportunities for the agencies, stakeholders, and participants involved.

Additionally, as part of the education and implementation of IPM practices at the USCF, a fish rearing program for the biological control of mosquitoes around the USCF will be implemented using the Least chub, Iotichthys phlegethontis, a small, native fish species, endemic only to Utah. Vocational skills and supplemental training will be given to inmates through this education project to attempt to increase future career opportunities post-release.

The final objective of this project is to share the outcomes and resources developed so other institutions can improve on, refine, and apply the lessons learned to their agencies. Our ultimate plan is to develop an IPM Best Management Practices (BMP) that can be used nationally at other locations with similar problems.

1. The primary objective of the proposed project is to increase awareness and adoption of IPM among two different populations in two different geographic locations (Utah and Wyoming).
   1. This objective will include educating and training USCF inmates and staff, and students in an alternative high school, SIS, on IPM.
   2. Additionally, this objective will include introducing inmates and staff at the USCF to rearing the least chub, a native fish species to Utah. The least chub will be used as a biological control agent against mosquitoes and develop a fish rearing program at the new USCF. The learning and actions through this objective will serve as a baseline for other animal husbandry programs for other sensitive species which can serve as biological controls of pests.
   3. Conservation of a sensitive fish species, endemic only to Utah, will also be completed using the least chub in this project instead of an invasive fish species (mosquito fish), in line with core IPM practices.

2. The second objective is to develop vocational skills of individuals in different populations through this project.
   1. The project will attempt to supplement and provide experience and knowledge to varying populations, incarcerated and students, with vocational and technical skills that will transfer to future career opportunities.
   2. This will increase the number of individuals with capabilities to conduct and provide IPM, with opportunities to obtain their own pesticide licenses and gain a better understanding of the biology of disease vectors and other pest organisms.
   3. Using the Least chub as a biological control agent at the USCF also exposes individuals to science and IPM, therefore training and educating them on other science-based fields, fostering a further opportunity for success in placement of a job or continued education.

3. The third objective of the proposed project is to share the outcomes and resources developed from this project with others.
   1. This will allow those within and outside of Utah, Wyoming, and others in the Western region to apply, build on, and improve what was designed and learned throughout this project to add to or better fit with their own organization.
   2. The IPM, biological, and environmental component of this project is applicable to many other facilities that house and/or educate individuals and can provide a stronger sense of connection to nature, while encouraging increased awareness and adoption of IPM practices.