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PESP Champions
Pesticide Environmental Stewardship 2005 Report
Each PESP member is required to develop a risk-reduction strategy, which is intended to help members move forward in a consistent, goal-oriented way. Each year, EPA recognizes “PESP Champions” based on the members’ outstanding efforts towards promoting integrated pest management (IPM) and reducing pesticide risk, and for their extraordinary level of commitment to protecting human health and the environment.
In 2005, EPA recognized the following 16 members as “PESP Champions” based on their strategies submitted in 2004 and 2005. This page provides information on each Champion's noteworthy accomplishments.
- Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary Program
- Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association
- Central Coast Vineyard Team
- Edison Electric Institute
- General Mills, Inc.
- Glades Crop Care, Inc.
- IPM Institute of North America, Inc.
- Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission
- New England Vegetable & Berry Growers Association
- North American Pollinator Protection Campaign
- Steritech Group, Inc.
- Southwest School IPM Technical Resource Center
- University of Wisconsin - Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems
- U.S. Department of Defense
- U.S. Hop Industry Plant Protection Committee
- Walnut Marketing Board
Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary Program
Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary Program promotes sustainable resource management and conservation through education, research, and public involvement. The Audubon’s Cooperative Sanctuary Program (ACSP) encourages habitat protection by providing assistance to schools, businesses, and golf courses. Audubon was recognized as a PESP Champion for its strong commitment to conservation, education, and collaboration with diverse urban and suburban stakeholders. In 2004, the ACSP for Neighborhoods was piloted in ten neighborhoods that became involved in Audubon’s sanctuary approach and Treasuring Home Initiative.
In 2005, membership in the ACSP for Golf Courses increased by 10 percent over 2004 to 2,200 courses in the United States. Many members took actions on their courses through the ACSP, and a new, improved Certification Handbook was made available to ACSP golf program members. The new handbook includes the latest information on best management practices and results from an external review of the program by universities, environmental organizations, and governmental agencies.
Audubon International recognized the need to strengthen the ACSP for Golf Courses through an additional site visit component. Hence, Audubon developed and pilot-tested a set of documents for use by third party site verifiers. While it is still cost-prohibitive for AI staff to conduct site visits for all members, local volunteers (environmental groups, university staff, etc.) can review AI documentation materials and walk sites with members to learn about their efforts and report back to Audubon International. This step, conducted during the recertification process, adds an additional verification element to the certification process of the ACSP.
Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association
Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association is a voluntary consortium of 90 separate local government agencies around the San Francisco Bay, charged with the task of reducing pollutants in runoff from an extremely developed, urban area. The “Our Water, Our World” program is increasing awareness and use of less toxic pesticide and other IPM methods. The program works with local retailers, vendors, and the public to promote household practices which reduce toxic runoff into the Bay. Even without funds for advertising, this program achieved an amazing level of recognition in the Bay area and contributed to reductions in pesticide levels in the San Francisco Bay. “Our Water, Our World” is so successful that it is being piloted in other urban areas.
Central Coast Vineyard Team
Central Coast Vineyard Team (CCVT) is a non-profit, grower group which promotes sustainable agricultural practices on the Central Coast of California. CCVT represents a collaboration of growers, wineries, consultants, researchers, and natural resource professionals. Members increased the adoption of environmentally-preferable farming practices. They also shared their experiences with other growers, thereby demonstrating an effective way of transferring their IPM successes.
CCVT growers use a Positive Point System as a self-assessment tool for evaluating the extent of sustainable, vineyard practices used on farms. Over the past several years, 12,000 acres were evaluated using the Positive Point System system. Growers participating in this process managed approximately 70,000 acres of farmland.
In 2001, CCVT began its Biologically Integrated Farming System (BIFS) project to reduce reliance on conventional pesticides, promote healthy soils, and rely on natural mechanisms such as biological control as the first line of defense against pests and diseases. BIFS staff conduct intensive weekly field and lab monitoring for pests and diseases, and they collect information regarding pesticide use, fertilizer inputs, and cultural and irrigation practices.
Working on twelve demonstration sites, the BIFS growers had higher Positive Point System scores than other grape growers. From 2001 - 2004, BIFS growers demonstrated a 47 percent reduction in total pesticide use while non-BIF growers more than doubled the total active ingredients used. BIFS growers reduced their use of organophosphate insecticides by 60 percent. Based on Cornell University’s Environmental Impact Quotient as a method to evaluate pesticide risk, BIFS growers reduced their environmental risk by over 100 percent when compared to other grape growers.
Edison Electric Institute
"Our collaboration with EPA, through the PESP program, is helping us move to a more cooperative approach in working vegetation management issues, especially since vegetation management is part of the new mandatory electric reliability standards. IVM benefits electric reliability, reduces maintenance needs, and provides real ecological benefit. It also is helping us to ensure electric reliability and avoid catastrophes such as the August 2001 power blackout. Through EEI’s collaborative efforts to develop IVM techniques, we have learned that protecting the power lines from vegetation is best accomplished by working with nature to encourage naturally low growing vegetation around power lines. This not only reduces our ecological footprint, but also reduces the amount of maintenance we must do, which keeps our costs down and results in fewer wildfires and blackouts caused by vegetation contacting lines. PESP helps us, not only in working with Federal agencies, but also to help sell the value and importance of a scientifically sound, consistent vegetation management program to our leadership."
The Edison Electric Institute is the association of U.S. shareholder-owned electric companies, international affiliates, and industry associates worldwide. Its U.S. members serve nearly 70 percent of all electric utility customers in the nation and generate nearly 70 percent of the electricity produced in the United States.
EEI is unique as a PESP member because it is an umbrella for PESP membership of each of their member utilities. EEI, through its Vegetation Management Committee, seeks to establish good vegetation management practices among member utilities.
EEI and its Vegetation Management Committee was recognized as a PESP Champion because of its work to promote Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) within the electric utility industry. IVM is a set of practices that reduces impacts such as erosion, runoff, wildfire, and it reduces pesticide exposure while saving the utility maintenance costs.
EEI is entering into an agreement with five federal agencies, including EPA, to promote IVM as the industry standard for vegetation management practices.
General Mills, Inc.
General Mills is one of the largest food processors in the United States, with many product lines including Green Giant and Pillsbury. General Mills is being recognized for its strong commitment to IPM, biopesticide adoption, and its transition away from the use of organophosphate insecticides. The company conducts in-house research on biopesticides and looks for ways to incorporate them in production plans.
General Mills provided EPA with a report on all activities in its strategy, not just its successes. It reduced its use of pyrethroid pesticides in sweet corn through better education and information to pest control supervisors, application timings, moth trap data, and insecticide rate adjustments. Improved cleaning equipment in processing plants allowed further reductions in insecticide use. It reduced the use of organophosphate pesticides on broccoli and cauliflower in Mexico. The use of systemic seed treatment insecticides eliminated foliar sprays of organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides.
General Mills’ commitment to IPM extends to its foreign processing plants and its development of an IPM compliance program. This program is highlighted by a strong commitment to IPM at its Irapuato, Mexico processing plant. The company’s auditing program contributed to overall awareness of IPM principles and programs, and it is working with the IPM Institute of North America on an IPM compliance program.
Glades Crop Care, Inc.
Glades Crop Care is an independent research and consulting firm with headquarters in Jupiter, Florida. The largest crop consulting firm in Florida, Glades earned national and international recognition for innovative pest and disease management programs. Glades was recognized as a PESP Champion for adopting IPM strategies which reduce pesticide use and risk, researching and testing lower risk pesticides, educating users on chemical safety, and providing outreach and education. Last year, Glades made progress in using GIS tracking methods in IPM, improving pest management auditing techniques and crop management practices, and promoting IPM to growers and the public.
This was the second time that Glades received the PESP Champion Award. Glades’ success stems from its mission to empower farmers and businesses seeking sustainable solutions to agricultural production challenges. Through such work, Glades optimizes production, profits and the safety of food, while it protects the environment and promotes safe working conditions. Glades works with its clients to understand and solve production challenges through science-based services and advanced pesticide management systems.
IPM Institute of North America
The IPM Institute of North America was founded in 1998 to maximize the potential of IPM as a market-driver. In 2005, the IPM Institute was recognized for creating and marketing its innovative program for IPM certification for schools. Through the Institute’s IPM Star Program, many schools are adopting IPM practices and reducing pesticide risk, and IPM in schools is being implemented throughout the State of Florida.
The IPM Institute does not only work with school districts and other organizations; it also is very innovative in the agricultural area, as well. The IPM Institute of North America fosters recognition and rewards in the marketplace for goods and service providers who practice IPM. The mission of the Institute is to accelerate adoption of IPM in agriculture and communities by using the power of the marketplace. Consumers want to support suppliers of goods and services who work to preserve the environment and reduce health hazards. The Institute also provides services to eco-label programs and others including IPM research, standards development, program management and inspector training and certification.
Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission
"This may seem strange to some but one of the best benefits I get from being a PESP member is the encouragement to write a pesticide risk-reduction strategy each year. It causes me to assess each year for Lodi’s sustainable winegrowing program where we have been, what we have accomplished, and where we are going."
The Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission represents over 600 growers farming more than 50,000 acres of winegrapes near the San Joaquin River Delta, which is 100 miles east of San Francisco. Lodi was recognized for leading the development of a state-wide code of sustainable winegrowing practices in California, modeled after the Lodi Winegrowers Workbook. It developed and implemented a system for tracking progress toward the adoption of sustainable farming practices by individual growers, as well as by all growers across the district. Sustainable viticulture involves all aspects of farming including viticulture, soil management, water management, human resources (growers, their family members, and employees), and wine quality.
In 2004, Lodi formed an expert panel to draft sustainable farming practices for a new Certification Program, and developed a pesticide environmental risk indicator model to assess the impacts of pesticides used in the region. The Pesticide Environmental Assessment System calculates an environmental impact index for each pesticide active ingredient and formulation used in Lodi vineyards, and addresses dietary impacts, impacts on birds, daphnia, and bees, and impacts due to worker exposure. Using this model, environmental risk is quantified. To achieve certification, growers cannot exceed the maximum environmental risk Lodi has determined as an acceptable threshold.
New England Vegetable & Berry Growers Association
"Our membership in PESP,combined with funding from EPA and others, has allowed our growers to improve pest identification, monitoring, and management. Our participation in PESP has resulted in increased use of reduced-risk pesticides and biopesticides and improved applicator and worker safety, while maintaining or improving the level of pest management in the field." ,
The New England Vegetable & Berry Growers Association is the oldest vegetable growers association in the country. Its 550 members in six states grow crops mainly for fresh markets, such as roadside stands, supermarkets, and restaurants. The Association was recognized by PESP for its long-standing commitment to IPM and biopesticide adoption.
To meet environmental stewardship goals, NEVGBA is using a Region 1 Strategic Agricultural Initiative Program grant to determine local impacts resulting from the passage of the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA). The project will determine which reduced-risk, biopesticide, or biological controls are being used. It also will gauge the phase-out of products as a result of FQPA based on a survey of growers on pesticide use on a wide variety of vegetables. The Association has requested residue data from FDA to use in its impact analysis. In an earlier phase of this project, NEVGBA provided information for an update of the New England Vegetable Management Guide and developed a field friendly, pest photo identification supplement, which received an overwhelmingly positive response from growers.
North American Pollinator Protection Campaign
The North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) is an alliance of pollinator researchers, conservation and environmental groups, private industry, and state and federal agencies, with a mission of ensuring the health of resident and migratory pollinating animals in North America.
NAPPC was recognized as a PESP champion for promoting education and communication on pollination. Its butterfly exhibit at the U.S. Botanical Garden improved the public’s understanding of pollination, pesticide risk-reduction, and their connection.
NAPPC also worked with EPA to include pollination issues in training manuals for pesticide applicators. More than 90 affiliated organizations, working to implement, promote and support a clear, continent wide coordinated Action Plan to encourage activities that assure documented increases in numbers and health of both resident and migratory pollinating animals. The major goal of this action plan is to coordinate local, national, and international action projects in the areas of pollinator research, education and awareness, conservation and restoration, policies and practices, and special partnership initiatives. Its other objectives are to facilitate communication among stakeholders, build strategic coalitions, leverage existing resources, and demonstrate an impact on the populations and health of pollinating animals within five years.
Since its founding, the NAPPC has been instrumental in focusing attention on the plight of pollinators and the need to protect them throughout the tri-national region comprised of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Two such efforts were the NAPPC Strategic Planning Conferences, both of which were held at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC. These two conferences resulted in an ambitious but vitally important and scientifically sound blueprint for pollinator protection.
Steritech Group, Inc.
"Two of the core values embedded in Steritech’s culture are innovation and environmental responsibility. We continually work toward furthering those values, an effort in which PESP plays an important role. PESP provides a platform on which we can focus our efforts to develop safe, holistic, and practical solutions to pest issues. Reduction in pesticide use doesn’t just happen - it takes a pioneering attitude and hard work. We are proud to be a member of PESP working to make industry-wide pesticide reduction a reality."
Steritech Group, Inc. is a commercial and institutional pest management company with headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. It provides food safety and environmental hygiene services to nearly 11,000 accounts nationwide.
In 2005, Steritech was recognized for reducing its use of conventional pesticides, especially organophosphates, and increasing its use of natural pesticides.
Over the past five years, Steritech reduced toxic rodent bait use by 35 percent and increased its use of non-toxic baits to seven percent of the total. Steritech explored and tested innovative, pest control strategies, including the use of sanitary and heat procedures as an alternative to methyl bromide treatments, improved insect monitoring programs for reducing exposure to pyrethroid dusts, and the use of biologically-based control strategies.
Southwest School IPM Technical Resource Center
"Membership in PESP and attendance at last year’s PESP national meeting allowed us the chance to meet with our EPA colleagues face to face for the first time, and provided new networking opportunities with EPA staffers and colleagues from other states. Within our agency, recognition of our efforts as PESP Champions has increased internal awareness and support of our efforts to make schools healthier places for kids to learn. Recently, we were invited to participate in an internal planning session and present the school IPM program as a model of success for other Texas Cooperative Extension employees. Without our PESP recognition, we wonder if our efforts would have been noticed or appreciated as much this year."
The Southwest School IPM Technical Resource Center promotes IPM and provides technical support and resources to schools and child care facilities nationally with a special focus in the Southwest.
The Technical Resource Center employs IPM specialists from Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico Cooperative Extension agencies. These IPM specialists are entomologists, turf grass experts, plant pathologists, soil scientists, and pesticide and health experts, all concerned with children’s health issues and effective pest management.
The Technical Resource Center was recognized for its innovation and promotion of IPM through school recognition awards, as well as training, publications, and outreach. Its efforts resulted in the adoption of IPM in hundreds of schools and daycare facilities.
U.S. Department of Defense
"DoD’s federal leadership in environmental stewardship is well served by our participation in PESP, and we are very appreciative of EPA’s partnership in this far-reaching endeavor. Participating in the PESP process sharpens pest management program leadership, helps us focus on implementing measures that lower risk of vector-borne disease and pest damage, and reduces our reliance on pesticides. PESP’s stimulation of strategic and analytical thinking highlights program strengths and weaknesses. It shows us where we are doing well and where we need to focus more attention. PESP’s high standards help us raise the bar of excellence for installation level programs."
U.S. Department of Defense Armed Forces Pest Management Board (AFPMB), an original PESP partner, was recognized as a Champion for its program to ensure quality pest management support for soldiers and installations all over the world.
One of its crowning achievements is a continued reduction in pesticide use, which it achieved while maintaining or improving pest and disease vector control. After reducing pesticide use by 55 percent, DoD continues each year to improve on that figure. In 2005 the Department achieved a 61 percent reduction in pesticide use.
Over 98 percent of all installations have a current pest management plan and over 99 percent of their pest management professionals have received training and certification in proper pest management practices. In addition, the AFPMB is recognized for its efforts to promote information and technology transfer to cities, counties, and states, resulting in techniques and approaches to pest management developed by DoD becoming industry standards for pest management.
As part of this effort, each of the service components, Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps has an outstanding IPM program both at its installations and in its support of deployed troops.
In addition, the Department of Defense and component services are leaders in researching, developing and implementing methods, alternatives and techniques that reduce pesticide risk while providing the most effective pest management support possible.
University of Wisconsin - Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems
"Participating in PESP has made it easier to network with other organizations, and learn from our collective mistakes and successes. PESP grants have supported our work. We can now quantify that our approach to pesticide risk reduction has potential. PESP support was instrumental in initiating a statewide pilot program for orchards. The PESP website is a great tool. Posted reports from participating groups are especially useful in learning about different strategies for pesticide risk reduction. We have used the organizational contact information to identify speakers for events and further our networking efforts."
The University of Wisconsin, Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems is working on research and outreach for fourteen agricultural organizations in Wisconsin.
The Center is being recognized for ambitious and innovative risk-reduction activities. For example, it produced a DVD for growers on fresh market fruits and vegetables, Healthy Grown potatoes, pesticide use reduction in apple production, and food for the local community.
The Center also developed a status report on organic production in Wisconsin.
U.S. Hop Industry Plant Protection Committee
"U.S. Hop Industry continues to seek bio-control options that will allow growers to maximize the impact of natural predators on target pests, thereby decreasing conventional pesticide applications. The most promising research explores the use of synthetic, herbivore-induced plant volatiles to recruit and sustain predators and enhance biological control. Also underway is research on cover crops and pesticide evaluations in the laboratory and field for efficacy against target pests and safety to beneficial species. The interaction of disease control efforts on pest and beneficial populations is another important area of research."
The U.S. Hop Industry Plant Protection Committee is a subcommittee of the Hop Growers of America and state hop commissions in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, which focuses on pest control issues.
U.S. Hops provides information to growers on pesticides and international residue standards, works with EPA on pesticide registrations, and resolves international pesticide issues.
In 2005, U.S. Hops was recognized for carrying out IPM strategies that reduce pesticide use, researching and testing reduced-risk pesticides, educating users on chemical safety, and providing outreach and education.
U.S. Hops collected pesticide usage data for two consecutive years to establish a baseline for demonstrating future reductions in pesticide use and risk, and shared these data with EPA.
Walnut Marketing Board
"The value of PESP membership is that it reinforces the fact that walnut growers efforts to develop alternatives to organophosphates has value well beyond direct benefit to walnut producers, and helps to forge links necessary to achieve a multi-user, area-wide approach to codling moth control. PESP helps us stay focused on efforts to promote alternatives and provides a sense of accomplishment that our efforts are part of regional and national Integrated Pest Management efforts."
The Walnut Marketing Board supports the 5,000 walnut growers in the United States through publicity, research, and educational programs.
"The Walnut Board has been very innovative in developing and adapting IPM techniques to walnuts, despite some daunting obstacles due to tree size and distribution. These innovations include aerial spray strategies, pheromone impregnated flakes, and mist dispensing systems, all working to reduce or replace traditionally used pesticides like azinphos methyl, chlorpyrofos, and similar organophosphates with significant environmental impacts."
The Walnut Board has a long history of working with growers, researchers, and agricultural extension to develop more environmentally-friendly pest management alternatives.