Invasive Species Management: Meetings, Conferences and Research
Activity
April 03 - February 04
ERS Requests Proposals for Competitive Awards on Invasive
Species Management: On February 9, 2004, ERS released a
request for proposals for competitive awards under The Program of
Research on the Economics of Invasive Species Management (PREISM).
The PREISM program, now in its second year, is soliciting research
proposals in three broad topic areas: (1) stakeholders and incentives
for efficient invasive species program management, (2) practical
decision tools for invasive species management, and (3) trade and
invasive species. Research funded under these grants and agreements
will focus on economic research and/or decision support system development
with direct implications for USDA policies and programs that address
protection from, control or management of, regulation concerning,
or trade policy relating to invasive species. Competitive funding
in fiscal year 2004 is expected to be about $1.2 million.
SAS-USA Staff Working on Soybean Rust and Bird Flu Scenarios:
Between January 15, 2004 and March 1, 2004, The SAS-USA team worked
on geographic analysis of the Soybean Rust and the Asian Bird Flu
scenarios. The analysis is expected to support economic analysis
efforts at ERS as well as enhance the capabilities of SAS-USA in
the future.
ERS Economist Meets With Heinz Center Staff on Invasive
Species Issues: On January 14, 2004, Jan Lewandrowski (ERS)
met with Dr. Laura Meyerson and Dr. Robin O'Malley from the Heinz
Center's State of the Nation's Ecosystems project. The Project wants
to develop a set of indicators that would serve to report on impacts
associated with non-native and invasive species. The purpose of
the meeting is to discuss of the potential use of agricultural variables
(such as yield losses) in these developing indicators.
ERS Economists Participates in Invasive Species Conference:
Between November 3, 2003 and November 8, 2003, Jan Lewandrowski
(ERS) attended the 7th International Conference on Ecology and Management
of Alien Plant Invasions in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The conference
brought together a broad range of expertise - including ecologists,
weed specialists, economists, private and public land managers,
and policy makers - to foster interdisciplinary cooperation on the
science and management of invasive exotic plants.
ERS Hosts Workshop on Soybean Rust Scenario Development:
On September 5, 2003, ERS hosted a workshop on Soybean Rust (SBR)
Scenario Development at ERS headquarters. ERS economist Stan Daberkow
chaired the workshop, whose participants included USDA and university
technical experts on SBR. Asian soybean rust, Phakopsora pachyrhizi,
is a highly mobile fungal disease afflicting many legumes, especially
soybeans. Should SBR become established in the U.S., it could have
a major impact on U.S. soybean production, markets, and production
costs. ERS is undertaking an analysis of the economic implications
of a U.S. SBR infestation with the primary goal of providing economic
information to policy-makers whose programs/policies are potentially
affected by a SBR outbreak
ERS to Support the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS): Between September 9, 2003 and September 10, 2003,
several ERS staff participated in a conference organized by APHIS
that focused on the role of economics in meeting agency goals. Kitty
Smith, Director of the Resource Economics Division, made a presentation
on ERS' role in supporting economic analysis and relevant modeling
frameworks for APHIS' mission. Vince Breneman and Pat Canning presented
an overview of the relevant capabilities of the Security Analysis
System for US Agriculture.
SAS USA principals present at the APHIS Economic Analysis
Conference: On September 10, 2003, SAS USA principals presented
the system and discuss how APHIS and ERS can better cooperate on
data collaboration and analyzing impacts of agricultural disasters.
SAS USA principals meet with USDA's Representative to the
Interagency National Invasive Species Council: On September
2, 2003, SAS USA principals met with Dr. Diaz Soltera to discuss
ERS capabilities in analyzing invasive species threats to US agricultural
production. Outcomes of this meeting are expected to assist the
SAS-USA system in becoming a more robust analysis tool for the Senior
USDA Management team.
ERS Represented at Meeting of Invasive Species Advisory
Committee: On June 24, 2003, Kitty Smith (ERS) attended
a meeting of the Invasive Species Advisory Committee, which is the
advisory body to the National Invasive Species Council. She provided
the Committee members a summary of the ERS/Farm Foundation Workshop
on the Economics of Invasive Species, and an update on ERS's new
Program of Research on the Economics of Invasive Species Management.
ERS Economist Presents PREISM Research Program:
On June 6-7, 2003, Jan Lewandrowski (ERS) presented the ERS Program
of Research on the Economics of Invasive Species Mangement (PREISM)
at the University of Wyoming's Conference on BioInvasions. The purpose
of the conference was to share research dealing with the economics
and ecology of invasive or alien species. The conference was sponsored
by several departments within the University of Wyoming and was
held at the University's Laramie campus.
ERS Hosts Workshop on the Economics of Invasive Species:
On May 12-13, 2003, ERS and the Farm Foundation hosted a workshop
on "The Economics of Invasive Species," at ERS headquarters.
The workshop introduced the new ERS Program of Research on the Economics
of Invasive Species Management (PREISM), which addresses invasive
pests of agricultural significance, including exotic pests of crops
and livestock, and the programs to exclude, detect, eradicate, or
control them. About 120 people attended. Rodney Brown (Deputy Under
Secretary for REE), Chuck Lambert (Deputy Under Secretary for MRP),
Steve Halbrook (Vice President of the Farm Foundation), ERS Administrator
Susan Offutt, and RED Director Kitty Smith introduced the workshop.
Over 20 experts from USDA, State governments, and universities,
plus representatives of stakeholder groups, made presentations addressing
APHIS and State invasive species programs, the perspectives of stakeholder
groups, issues of policy and resource allocation, bioeconomics and
risk estimation, and trade related to invasive species. Many of
the workshop attendees will be submitting research proposals to
the new PREISM program for funding. In addition, ERS staff will
be conducting and synthesizing economic research on the problems
of invasive pests and the programs to address them.
ERS SAS-USA Team and APHIS Discuss Inter-Agency Cooperation:
On May 7, 2003, the SAS-USA team and ERS management met with Gordon
Gordh and top level managers from APHIS Center for Plant Health
Science and Technology to discuss how APHIS and ERS could collaborate
with work on invasive species and homeland security initiatives.
ERS Contributes to Assessment of Exotic Newcastle Disease
Outbreak: On May 7, 2003,SAS-USA analysts provided employment
and Gross State Product estimates associated with the weekly lost
export markets caused by the outbreak and spread of Exotic Newcastle
disease among commercial poultry flocks.
ERS and APHIS Discuss Emergency Response Systems:
On April 28, 2003, ERS SAS-USA Team met with APHIS and the Maxim
Inc. to discuss their plans for the biologic threat emergency response
systems.
APHIS and ERS To Share Data and Plans: On May
7, 2003, Dr. Gordon Gordh, Director of APHIS' Raleigh, NC-based
Center for Plant Health Science and Technology (CPHST), and his
senior management team, met with RED Director Kitty Smith and staff
at ERS headquarters with regarding the ERS invasive species economics
program. CPHST provides scientific and technical support to the
Plant Protection and Quarantine side of APHIS, and employs one economist.
Gordh asked for the meeting so that he and his managers could get
to know ERS better and to initiate talks about the possibility of
ERS providing or managing economic input to CPHST activities.
ERS Director Returns from APHIS Detail: On April
28, 2003, Kitty Smith (ERS) resumed her function as Director of
the Resource Economics Division after a successful detail with APHIS'
Plant Protection and Quarantine Division. Kitty learned a great
deal about program agency functions and needs while there. APHIS
benefited from Kitty's development of a prototypical tool for rapidly
and systematically ranking pest threats. Both agencies benefit from
a new, shared understanding of each other's programs, new and stronger
linkages, and a wide range of new collaborations. Another ERS staff
member, Linda Calvin, is presently halfway through her detail with
APHIS' Program and Policy Development Division.
January-March 2003
ERS presents analysis on invasive species to APHIS—On
March 18, 2003, Jan Lewandrowski, Fred Kuchler, Monte Vandeveer,
and Michael Roberts (ERS) presented a slightly revised version of
their briefing—"APHIS Emergency Eradication Payments—A
Retrospective Comparison with Other Farm Programs, Economic Conditions,
and Conceptual Goals," at the APHIS facility in Riverdale,
MD. Earlier versions of this presentation were made to Undersecretary
Hawks and APHIS Administrator Acord, and at an ERS seminar. Material
was added that outlines a follow-up joint APHIS-ERS product.
ERS presents research on invasive species to interagency task
group—On March 6, 2003, Jan Lewandrowski and Dennis Shields
(ERS) attended the initial meeting of the Invasivespecies.gov USDA
Task Group at the National Agricultural Library in Beltsville, MD.
The purpose of the Task Group is to bring together invasive species
specialists from across USDA to identify ways to make to make the
Invasivespecies.gov web site more responsive to the needs of USDA
agencies and their clients. Jan Lewandrowski presented an overview
of ERS's invasive species program.
ERS economists attend Invasive Species Advisory Committee meeting—On
March 5, 2003, Craig Osteen and Utpal Vasavada (ERS) attended the
Invasive Species Advisory Committee meeting, which advises the inter-departmental
National Invasive Species Council. Osteen and Vasavada presented
ERS's mission and its new invasive species initiative.
ERS, APHIS meet to plan invasive species workshop—On
February 25, 2003, ERS and APHIS met to begin planning a workshop
on invasive species for spring 2003. The workshop will help shape
the development of a research program in invasive species, supported
by a budget initiative recently passed in FY2004 appropriations.
Utpal Vasavada (ERS) led the discussion. Others from ERS included
Kitty Smith, Mary Bohman, Linda Calvin, Stan Daberkow, Jan Lewandrowski,
Ken Mathews, Craig Osteen, and Dennis Shields. APHIS participants
included Trang Vo, Janet Berls, and Shannon Hamm.
ERS Assists APHIS in disease-loss estimates—On January
10, 2003, David Harvey (ERS), using material developed by Jennifer
Grannis (economist at APHIS - Fort Collins, CO) responded to an
APHIS request to evaluate estimates of value of trade lost due to
Newcastle disease in poultry in California. They discussed the impact
of falling prices due to market conditions other than export bans.
This and other market issues indicate that impact of trade losses
may be best expressed in terms of a range of possible values.
ERS, APHIS collaborate on economics of invasive species and
biosecurity—At a February 8, 2002, meeting between Kevin
Shea and Bill Wallace (APHIS) and Kitty Smith (ERS), details for
a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two agencies were
agreed to, and first steps were taken to create a joint Working
Group on invasive species issues. The MOU established a framework
for ongoing collaboration between ERS and APHIS, primarily among
economists from both agencies, ensuring effective interaction on
invasive species activities in APHIS and other USDA agencies. It
also established the Working Group, made one representative from
the ERS-APHIS Working Group a permanent member of the APHIS invasive
species team, and made ERS a permanent member of the USDA invasive
species team. Working Group meetings have been held periodically
since February 2002.
ERS economist attends interagency preparatory meeting for U.S.-Chile
ECA negotiations—On January 9, 2003, Joseph Cooper (ERS)
attended a meeting at the State Department, Office of Environmental
Policy, to prepare for discussions between the U.S. and Chile over
the drafting of a U.S.-Chile Environmental Cooperation Agreement
(ECA). The ECA will provide a framework for individual U.S. agencies
to develop joint environmental research projects with Chilean counterparts.
The State Department considers agriculture to be an important sector
for joint environmental projects, with invasive species cited as
a specific area of interest.
July-December 2002
ERS briefs Undersecretary and APHIS on invasive species/pests—On
November 27, 2002, Jan Lewandrowski, Fred Kuchler, Michael Roberts,
and Monte Vandeveer (ERS) presented a briefing titled, "APHIS
Emergency Eradication Payments—A Retrospective Comparison with
Other Farm Programs, Economic Conditions, and Conceptual Goals"
to Undersecretary Hawks and APHIS Administrator Acord. The briefing
was requested by Undersecretary Hawks to put recent indemnity payments
associated with APHIS' Emergency Eradication Programs into perspective
with other disaster relief payments as well as with general commodity
market and farm sector economic conditions.
ERS economist participates in invasive species workshop—On
November 15, 2002, Jan Lewandrowski (ERS) participated in a workshop
titled, "Eradication and Control Programs for Pests and Diseases
of Animals and Plants," in Washington, DC. The workshop was
hosted by The National Academy of Science, Board on Agriculture
and Natural Resources. The event engaged a small group of scientists
and policymakers in a dialogue on high-priority agricultural pest
and disease issues associated with control and eradication programs,
legal and economic issues, and regulatory challenges.
ERS economists attend animal disease spread modeling workshop—On
July 9-11, 2002, Jan Lewandrowski, Ken Mathews, and Dennis Shields
(ERS) attended an "Animal Disease Spread Modeling" workshop
in Ft. Collins, CO, hosted by USDA-APHIS. After presenting and discussing
several disease spread models from around the world, attendees offered
recommendations with respect to modeling input into the decision
process during a disease outbreak. One of the models is being evaluated
for use in ERS analysis associated with homeland security. The workshop
was also an opportunity for ERS economists to meet and interact
with APHIS livestock economists to help define the work plan of
the ERS/APHIS Invasive Species Working Group.
January-June 2002
GAO consults with ERS on invasive species—On May 17,
2002, Tim Guinane, Trish McClure, and Anne Stevens (GAO) met informally
with ERS members of the ERS-APHIS Working Group on Invasive Species
(Dennis Shields, Linda Calvin, Stan Daberkow, Jan Lewandrowski,
and Craig Osteen), Kitty Smith, and Steve Crutchfield to ask for
input on a GAO study of invasive species issues. The GAO study is
broader than agriculture, and is being conducted in cooperation
with the government of Canada. GAO project staff asked ERS for assistance
in identifying studies on the economic impact of invasive species,
and for comments on the quality of several sources they had uncovered.
July-December 2001
ERS/RED and APHIS directors plan collaboration on invasive species
economics—On November 9, 2001, RED Director Kitty Smith
(ERS) met with Director Kevin Shea (Policy and Program Division,
APHIS) and his Deputy Director, Bill Wallace, to plan ERS-APHIS
collaboration on the economics of invasive species management. Smith
and Wallace designated a small interagency group to discuss useful
avenues for collaboration. Mutual interest seems to focus on integration
of economics and risk assessment methodologies to better inform
policy and program decisions on invasive species ("biosecurity").
In addition, Shea suggested that ERS needs to join the USDA Invasive
Species Council, an action which Smith pursued.
January-June 2001
Invasive species workshop—On May 9-10, 2001, Stan
Daberkow and Craig Osteen (ERS) attended the Invasive Species International
Movement of Plant Propagative Material Workshop at the University
of Maryland. The workshop was sponsored by the University of Maryland
Center for Environmental Science, the American Seed Trade Association,
the American Nursery and Landscape Association, and USDA. The meeting
provided a dialogue on the international movement of plant material
that may potentially be invasive. Presentations addressed invasive
weed problems and the institutional framework for identifying and
preventing such problems. Discussions included horticultural and
seed industry viewpoints about the risks and benefits of introducing
new plant species for sale. While not a major focus of the workshop,
the topic of genetically modified organisms as potentially invasive
species or sub-species was discussed. Options for addressing invasive
species problems varied from regulatory approaches involving scientific
risk assessment to voluntary compliance.
for more information, contact:
Jan Lewandrowski and Donna
Roberts
web administration: webadmin@ers.usda.gov
page updated: February
11, 2004
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