This e-mail (attached PDF) will be the only announcement regarding the upcoming course. Please forward this message to targeted personnel within your agency, partner agency or tribe and state apiarist.

You are invited! 2015 Pesticide Regulatory Education Program Pollinator Protection & Pesticide Management Course

Dates: Monday-Thursday, May 4-7, 2015 with travel Sunday and Friday
Location: Courtyard by Marriott Portland City Center, Portland, Oregon

This four-day course is offered by Washington State University with funding provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The goal of the course is three-fold. First is to provide a networking forum to discuss the complex and varied issues around pollinator health, management, and services that are critical to beekeepers and growers. Second is to increase one’s understanding about what other groups are doing on pollinator protection (e.g., beekeepers, NGO’s, federal/state government agencies, pesticide registrants) in order to build connections for developing a balanced, science-based pollinator protection strategy.  Lastly, to discuss EPA’s pollinator strategy and development of state and tribal managed pollinator protection plans.

The target audience is new and experienced pesticide program managers who work under a FIFRA Cooperative Agreement, with a secondary priority for up to three partner apiary program managers.  A state or tribe can nominate one pesticide program manager and one apiary program manager.

The planning faculty has selected the following areas as the focus of the Pollinator Protection & Pesticide Management PREP:

1. Role of honey bees and other pollinators in agriculture and honey production
2. Honey bee health status and stressors
3. Connecting with other groups that are focused on pollinator protection
4. State and local restrictions to protect bees
5. Bee kill enforcement issues
6. EPA OPP pollinator risk mitigation
7. State and tribal Managed Pollinator Protection Plans

Selected participants will be tasked with doing some homework prior to coming to Portland.  The agenda will include presentations and small/large group discussions. Participants may be required to deliver a brief (5 or 10-minute) overview of an aspect of their organization’s pollinator protection strategies.  WSU will provide participants ample time to address their homework assignments in order to prepare for the PREP Course.

Nomination Process

• Nominate
  • One state, territory, tribe pesticide program manager, AND one state, territory, tribe apiary program manager
    • All travel expenses will be covered by WSU; airfare will be managed through WSU’s travel agency
  • EPA regions, headquarters, or federal partner
    • WSU will invoice each federal agency participant for all course expenses; EPA registration will be under $300.
• Electronic Nomination Deadline: Wednesday, February 18, 2015 
• Nomination website:  http://events.SignUp4.net/PREP_2015_Pollinator_Nominee
  • This link is not posted to the PREP web site and can only be found in this email (or PDF).
• Electronic submission: prepare your text for #3 and #4 below prior to registering your “Nomination” so that you can simply copy and paste the text into the electronic nomination from a word document. Information to be collected with the electronic nomination:

1. Name, agency or tribe, city, state, email, phone, years of service
2. Airline tickets: Full name, birth date, gender, possible departure airports
3. Scope of nominee’s job responsibilities – limit 100 words
4. Why this training is essential to job responsibilities – limit 100 words

• Only complete nominations will be considered; incomplete submissions may be rejected
• Upon submission, nominee will receive an emailed receipt for the submission
• Posting of submitted nominees: http://PREP.wsu.edu — click 2015 Courses -> Pollinator Protection & Pesticide Management
  • Does not indicate acceptance into the course

Selection of Participants

• Accepting 24 individuals from state, territory, and tribe pesticide program managers who work under FIFRA cooperative agreements and apiary program managers
• Accepting as many EPA staff as space permits
• PREP Planning Faculty will make the selections based on how well the nominee meets the target participant criteria and why the training is essential to their job responsibilities
• All nominees will receive notification of selection or non-selection
• Selection notification will be completed by Monday, February 23
  • Posting of SELECTED participants: http://PREP.wsu.edu — click 2015 Courses -> Pollinator Protection & Pesticide Management

If at any time you or other personnel require more information or assistance, please contact one of the WSU PREP Campus staff members at 509-335-2952 or PREP.SLA@wsu.edu.  Information, such as the travel policy, is available at the PREP Campus web site: http://prep.wsu.edu.

On behalf of WSU and US EPA, we thank the Planning Faculty for all of their hard work in developing an agenda that promises to be engaging.  Thank you Oregon Department of Agriculture for offering to assist with the course and its field trip.  We look forward to offering the Pollinator Protection & Pesticide Management PREP Course and appreciate your assistance in nominating appropriate individuals.

Sincerely,

Carol Black
PREP Program Manager
Washington State University
PO Box 646382
Pullman, WA 99164
509-335-2830 (o) Pacific Time
208-301-3654 (c)
ramsay@wsu.edu

Dea Zimmerman
PREP Coordinator
U.S. EPA
Office of Pesticide Programs
77 West Jackson Blvd., Mail Code: LC-8J
Chicago, IL 60604-3507
312-353-6344 Central Time
zimmerman.dea@epa.gov