The 2018 IPM Achievement Awards

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The 2018 Awardees are:

Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (Midpen) is a regional greenbelt of over 63,000 acres that constitutes 26 open space preserves in Santa Clara, San Mateo, and Santa Cruz counties. In 2014, Midpen's Board of Directors adopted an integrated pest management (IPM) program with the goals of managing pests through consistent implementation of IPM principles, protecting and restoring the natural environment, and providing for human safety and enjoyment while visiting and working on Midpen lands. Midpen is a leader in land management with a comprehensive IPM program dedicated to minimizing pesticide use and risk. The IPM program focuses on management of invasive plants and protection of native biodiversity. Invasive weed prevention concentrates on early-detection monitoring, protocols to reduce the spread of weed propagules and disease spores, and removals using manual methods. The district addressed the toxic effects of urban rodenticide use on the bobcat population at their most visited preserve by partnering with Santa Clara County Vector Control to educate neighbors about the impacts of rodenticides on wildlife, and noticeably improved the health of the bobcat population. Midpen exemplifies regional leadership by using a collaborative approach to environmental protection and extensive public outreach. Their best management practices include measures to safeguard workers and visitors from pesticides and to protect ground and surface waters from potential runoff. Midpen published a detailed IPM Guidance Manual, including a requirement for annual reports, and an Environmental Impact Report on the IPM Program. The guidelines and annual reports are informative and available to the public.

More information is available at www.openspace.org or by contacting:
Leigh Ann Gessner, Public Affairs Specialist
Phone: (650) 691-1200 x 638
Email: lgessner@openspace.org

Soil Fumigant Alternatives / BioSolarization Team

The Soil Fumigant Alternatives / BioSolarization Team is a multi-institutional team that formed in 2004. The team researches alternatives to agricultural soil fumigants in order to reduce the associated health and environmental risks. The founding members of the team are from UC Davis Biological and Agricultural Engineering, UC Kearney Agricultural Center, and UC Cooperative Extension. For the past 14 years, this team has generated and disseminated a large body of information on soil pest management practices. By improving the implementation and efficacy of biosolarization, the team is seeking to create an alternative to soil fumigants–a DPR priority issue. Solarization is a well-established pest management practice. Biosolarization, and its cousin anaerobic soil disinfestation, are newer and lend themselves to innovations in quality and implementation. The team's work on quantifying the factors that influence effectiveness has the potential for tailoring treatments to individual sites and reducing pesticide use throughout California. In addition to managing soil pests and pathogens, biosolarization practices promoted by the team aim to improve soil health and reduce landfill waste. Members of the team have been conducting outreach and collaborating with industry, academic/research groups, and public stakeholders for many years.

More information is available at ucanr.edu/sites/solarization/ or by contacting:
James Stapleton, IPM Plant Pathologist
Phone: (559) 646-6536
Email: jjstapleton@ucanr.edu

If you would like to find out more about IPM or the IPM Achievement Awards Program, you can contact:

For content questions, contact:
Michelle Andreetta
1001 I Street, P.O. Box 4015
Sacramento, CA 95812-4015
Phone: (916) 324-4245
E-mail: school-ipm@cdpr.ca.gov