P. ramorum in water workshop now on the web

Preventing the spread of Phytophthora ramorum via water was the focus of a 2 ½ day workshop in Puyallup, WA, June 28-30, 2011. Attended by over 50 regulators, researchers, and industry representatives from the western and southeastern US, as well as Washington, DC, the workshop's mission was to coalesce research, management, and regulations for effective, economical, and environmentally acceptable ways of limiting P. ramorum spread via contaminated nursery water runoff. The group began the meeting with a visit to the site of a previously positive Gig Harbor retail nursery (where P. ramorum-infested water had escaped the nursery and infected riparian salal plants) to review treatments and mitigations implemented. Meeting presentations addressed the incidence and distribution of P. ramorum detections in waterways, water baiting techniques, risks and impacts for WA, and treatments to reduce the risk of spreading inoculum in water. Research and education/outreach needs were identified, with group exercises and discussion concentrated on nursery treatments as well as water management, monitoring, and notification of downstream users of contaminated water. More information on the workshop can be found at: http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/ppo/sod/extension/workshops/Pr_water_jun_2011/index.html. The meeting was organized by Gary Chastagner, Washington State University, and Susan Frankel, USDA-Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, and sponsored by Washington State University and the California Oak Mortality Task Force.