TEAM Leafy Spurge: An Areawide Pest Management Program

Abstract

The Ecological Areawide Management (TEAM) Leafy Spurge project is a United States Department of Agriculture and Agricultural Research Service (USDA–ARS) regional, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program focused on the Little Missouri River drainage in the states of North and South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming, U.S.A. TEAM Leafy Spurge project represents the first large-scale, systematic study and demonstration of weed management alternatives under USDA–ARS's Areawide Pest Management Program. The other three projects previously approved under the program targeted insect pests. TEAM Leafy Spurge's primary goal has been to demonstrate the use of ecologically based IPM strategies to achieve effective, affordable leafy spurge control. TEAM Leafy Spurge is co-chaired and overseen by the USDA–ARS in cooperation with the USDA–Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Both agencies have many years of experience in research and implementation of leafy spurge control tactics as well as valuable contacts and resources. Together those federal partners make a powerful team to address the leafy spurge problem on a multi-state basis. Additional federal agencies participating in TEAM Leafy Spurge include: Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Reclamation, and U.S. Geological Service. State partners include: state departments of agriculture and other state agencies, Cooperative Extension Services, land grant universities, and county weed managers, while private sector representatives include landowners and ranchers. A non-partisan ad hoc committee consisting of state and federal researchers, land managers, representatives from local, state, and federal entities, and private landowners/ranchers provides guidance and helps to ensure the quality and applicability of the program. The extensive partnerships are of particular importance because they help to ensure continued dissemination of information past the limited life span of TEAM Leafy Spurge, which is set to expire in 2003. The five components of TEAM Leafy Spurge research and demonstration project are: (1) Program management; (2) Operations; (3) Assessment; (4) Supporting research, and (5) Technology transfer. As of this writing, the bulk of the research work has been completed and now TEAM Leafy Spurge is focusing its energies on assessment and technology transfer projects. Where available, brief outlines of research results are included here in addition to discussion of the program's key components, overall structure and general operation.