About the Western Integrated Pest Management Center

The Western IPM Center promotes integrated pest management, a science-based process to identify and reduce risks from pests using the most economical and environmentally responsible means.

Who We Are
The Western Integrated Pest Management Center is one of four regional centers funded by the USDA to promote IPM practices. We serve as the hub of a multi-state partnership and a communication network linking a diverse audience that includes researchers, growers, extension educators, commodity organizations, regulators, environmental groups, pest control professionals, government agencies and others.

From our office headquartered at UC Davis, we serve 13 Western states and the Pacific island territories.

What We Do
The Western IPM Center promotes the adoption of IPM practices to solve pest-management problems in agriculture, urban areas and public lands throughout the West. We encourage this science-based approach to pest management using pest biology, environmental information and all available technology to reduce pest damage to acceptable levels by the most economical means, while reducing the risk to people, property, resources and the environment.

Our goal is to bring the right people together with the necessary resources to solve emerging and important pest problems.

How We Do It
The Western IPM Center connects people across states, disciplines and purposes in order to increase the understanding of pest issues and expand the use of IPM practices in the West.

We listen to our stakeholders to identify problems and set priorities for IPM research and outreach, and we support solutions by funding multi-state work groups, Pest Management Strategic Plans, IPM research, IPM implementation efforts, and outreach and publication projects. We publish a quarterly newsletter, annual report and this website.

Governance
The Western IPM Center has active Advisory and Steering Committees that represent the diverse interests and most of the states in the Western Region. Committee members include growers and processors; environmental organizations; land-grant university groups like the Cooperative Extension System, Western Plant Diagnostic Network and Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education; federal agencies including USDA and EPA; crop protection firms; and IPM researchers throughout the West.

Steering Committe

Dr. Steve Balling Director, Agricultural and Analytical Services Del Monte Foods	Dr. Jennifer Miller Sustainable Agriculture Associate Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides
Ms. Sherry Glick National Pesticides and Schools Coordinator U.S. EPA	Dr. V. Philip Rasmussen Professor and Director of the Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program (WSARE) Utah State University
Dr. H. Michael Harrington Executive Director, Western Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors Colorado State University

 

Advisory Committee

Dr. Lori Berger Executive Director California Specialty Crops Council	Ms. Peg Perrault Environmental Specialist EPA Region 8
Mr. Steve Ela Partner and Operations Manager Ela Family Farms	Dr. Jennifer Ryder Fox Dean, College of Agriculture California State University, Chico
Dr. Dawn Gouge Associate Professor and Associate Specialist— Urban Entomology University of Arizona	Ms. Rebecca (Becky) Sisco Regional Field Coordinator Western Region IR-4
Dr. Tom Holtzer Department Head and Professor, Dept. of Bioagricultural Sciences & Pest Management Colorado State University	Dr. Doug Walsh Professor and Entomologist, Department of Entomology Washington State University Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center

 

Ex Officio Members

Dr. Herb Bolton National Program Leader, Division of Plant Systems-Protection USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture	Dr. David Epstein Entomologist USDA, Office of Pest Management Policy