new center

In September 2003, the Northeastern Pest Management Center will enter a new phase in its evolution. The Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service has approved additional Center funding totaling approximately $4.3 million over the next four years, a 44 percent annual increase over previous Center support. With these new resources, we will build on our successes of the past three years and strengthen our ability to address stakeholder priorities. The Center’s name will change to the Northeastern Integrated Pest Management Center (NE IPMC) to more accurately reflect the manner in which we address issues, a change that will occur for all four regional Centers nationwide.

An important new component of the Center is a biannual regional conference for all those concerned with IPM in the region. The conference will facilitate assessment of the current state of IPM and will promote the assessment and prioritization of needs. As a gathering of stakeholders around the common interest of IPM, the conference will engender new collaborations and invigorate existing cooperative efforts among individuals, programs, and agencies. Specific plans for the focus and scope of the conference will be made under the guidance of the Advisory Council.

Another significant change is the creation of several new competitive funding programs, ranging from $10,000 to $75,000 annually, that will allow the Center to outsource and actively support projects addressing regional IPM priorities. These funds will support the development of IPM planning tools, provide for new regional and multistate IPM publications, and aid important IPM research or extension projects. A special fund will be created to support projects that address critical issues, as part of our effort to facilitate timely responses that could lead to quicker and more effective IPM solutions. These new funding opportunities will be open to individuals and groups both within and outside of the land grant system

In proposing this new phase of the Center’s development, NE PMC leaders reflected on what has worked well so far, so a number of aspects of the Center will remain the same. The NE IPMC will continue to be guided by a Steering Committee, an Advisory Council, and Center staff, and the organization will continue to be jointly administered by Penn State and Cornell University. We will continue to operate and improve our interactive communications network, a multifaceted system that includes meetings, printed reports and newsletters, e-mail, web sites, and web-based newsletters. And of course we will continue to provide reliable IPM information and to foster the best possible decisions related to the management of pests.

The IPM Working Groups (formerly called Commodity Working Groups) and States Network Projects (formerly known as Information Network Projects) will continue to carry out much of Center’s work. We will now be able to provide the working groups with some funding to address IPM-related priorities in the region. Previously, their work was done by leaders and members on an entirely volunteer basis. The new funding will support group leaders’ activities and possibly allow them to support the work of part-time staff. In addition, both the IPM Working Groups and States Network Projects will be able to compete for funds to support specially proposed projects.

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The Northeastern Integrated Pest Management Center fosters the development and adoption of IPM, a science-based approach to managing pests in ways that generate economic, environmental, and human health benefits. We work in partnership with stakeholders from agricultural, urban, and rural settings to identify and address regional priorities for research, education, and outreach.