Performing Department
Environmental & Forest Biology
Non Technical Summary
The nonprofit Gypsy Moth Slow the Spread Foundation, Inc (STS Foundation) was incorporated in Raleigh, North Carolina during August of 2000. The Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, Agreement between Member States, and the Engagement Letter for Audit Services are available upon request. The purpose of the STS Foundation is to provide coordination among the various states that implement the area wide STS strategy and to cooperate with USDA and other entities in implementing and operating the STS project in an effective manner. To accomplish the work outlined below the STS Foundation will fund sub-grants to the following participants:University of Kentucky, Illinois Department of Agriculture, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Michigan Department of Agriculture, North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, West Virginia Department of Agriculture, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Ohio Department of Agriculture and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.The STS Foundation requests federal assistance to:1. conduct STS detection and pre-treatment delimitation pheromone trap surveys on federal and non-federal lands across the STS program area,2. conduct STS treatment projects on nonfederal and federal lands within the STS area,3. conduct STS post-treatment evaluation trapping on federal and non-federal lands, and4. conduct other work in support of the STS projectFederal RoleThe 1990 Farm Bill (PL 101-624) authorized federal financial assistance for forest pest prevention _and suppression on forested lands of all ownership. This assistance may be used to protect trees and forests and wood products, stored wood, and wood in use from natural man made causes. Financial assistance is also provided to State officials and others to monitor and protect forested lands. Program activity promotes healthy and sustainable forests and sustainable economic development.The STS Foundation requests federal assistance to conduct gypsy moth activities in the STS project area, which includes approximately 100 million acres in the following states: North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Iowa (Figure 1).PROJECT OBJECTIVES FOR 2020The goal of the cooperative USDA Forest Service (USDA-PS) STS project is to reduce the rate of spread of gypsy moth by at least 60% from historical levels. This is accomplished through detection, delimitation and control of recently established colonies of the gypsy moth within the STS action zone, which encompasses the leading edge of the advancing gypsy moth population front.The objectives of the STS Foundation in carrying out the FY 2020 STS project are to:Monitor the spread of the gypsy moth,Detect and delineate gypsy moth colonies in the STS action zone,Treat recently established colonies of the gypsy moth that have been detected and delineated in the STS action zone in order to reduce the rate of spread,Prepare neighboring states for STS andImplement technology development projects as recommended by the technical committee.Methodology/TimelineDetection and delineation of gypsy moth colonies in the action area. The state agencies participating in STS plan to deploy approximately 57,000 pheromone traps in systematic grid patterns throughout the STS program area in the states of NC, VA, WV, MI, TN, KY, OH, IN, IL, IA, MN and WI in the STS area (table 1 and figure 1). Data will be collected according to project standards and guidelines using GPS units or tablet PCs and submitted electronically to the STS database at VPI and MSU. All personnel involved in data collection will be trained in the use of GPS and STS data quality standards. All field data will be subjected to a series of database validations and any errors will be corrected per project guidelines. At the end of moth flight season, these data will be fed into the STS Decision Algorithm at Virginia Tech and output will be used to make recommendations for future delimitation and treatment activities.Treatment of recently established colonies in order to reduce the rate of gypsy moth spread. Analysis of trapping data collected during 2019 resulted in the detection and delineation of 138 recently established, low-level colonies of the gypsy moth within the STS action zone that are proposed for treatment in 2020 (Table 2). All treatments will be in full compliance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the National Pesticide Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). Each state will contract individually for the aerial application of larvicides in the spring (Gypchek, Btk, or Mimic) but mating disruption treatments will be implemented under a USDA Forest Service contract. Application aircraft will be guided using differentially corrected global position systems (DGPS). Post-treatment delimitation surveys will be implemented to evaluate the 2020 larvicide treatments and the 2019 mating disruption treatments. At the end of moth flight season, these data will be used by the STS Decision Algorithm to evaluate current and past season treatment effectiveness.Monitoring the spread of gypsy moth. In conjunction with the states participating in STS, approximately 57,000 pheromone baited traps will be deployed in widely spaced grid patterns throughout the states of IN, IL, IA, KY, Ml, MN, NC, OH, VA, WV, and WI in the STS action area and monitoring zones (Table 1 and Figure I) during the spring and early summer of 2020. Data will be collected on OPS units or tablet PCs and submitted electronically to the STS database, which is jointly administered at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI) in Blacksburg, VA and Michigan State University (MSU) in Lansing, Michigan. These data will be analyzed in the fall and early winter of 2020 to estimate spread rates along the leading edge of gypsy moth populations, using methods specifically developed for STS by the STS Technical Committee and embedded in the Decision Algorithm (DA).Awarded Start Date: 1/1/2020Sponsor: Slow the Spread Foundation Incorporated
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
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Project Methods
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