2019

Presented by Timothy Marasco, Field Operations Supervisor, Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry, Division of Forest Health. Tim discusses the status of primary insects and diseases impacting Pennsylvania's forests. This includes gypsy moth (and other spring defoliators), hemlock woolly adelgid, emerald ash borer, thousand canker disease, and others. He also addresses the Bureau's suppression, treatment, and monitoring programs as they apply to the various pests discussed.

Presented by Julie Urban, Associate Research Professor, Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University. This presentation reviews recent work being conducted by Urban and other colleagues at Penn State on SLF biology and management. This includes recent results of insecticide trials on grape, tree fruit, and ornamentals, assessment of impacts of SLF feeding on grape physiology, and studies on reproductive development and endosymbiont transmission in SLF.

Presented by Patricia Leopold, Climate Change Specialist, U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station, Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science. The Adaptation Workbook is a product of the Climate Change Response Framework, which supports efforts by land managers to implement adaptive responses to climate change impacts. The Adaptation Workbook is a structured process to consider the potential effects of climate change on forest ecosystems and design forest management and conservation actions that can help prepare for changing conditions. The process is completely flexible to accommodate a wide variety of geographic locations, scales, forest types, management goals, and ownership types.

Presented by Jason Ferrell, Ph.D., Professor and Director Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants, University of Florida. Reports about the harmful effects of glyphosate continue to be in the news. Whether it is toxicity to frogs, cancer in rats, or potentially carcinogenic effects in humans, this world-leading herbicide is commonly discussed. In this presentation we review these claims and discuss the strength of the science. We also frame these claims in a proper context to help us understand glyphosate and whether it has a future in our society.