Activities & Meetings

(Printable Version)

Report of 2005 Activities

1. The 39th Meeting of NAFC Insect and Disease Working Group was held in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico , October 25-27, 2005 . The theme of the Meeting was “Pests in Forest Plantations”.
2. The U.S. provided a status report on the Exotic Forest Pest Information System (EXFOR). There are 150 pests records including risk assessment, on the EXFOR website: http: //spfnic.fs.fed.us/exfor/ .
3. The book “Forest Diseases of Mexico” has been completed. The cost of printing the 3,500 copies will be MX $285.00 per copy.
4. Canada and Mexico participated in the development of a Risk Map at the US Forest Health Monitoring meeting in Miami . The task is to develop a North American Risk Map for tree mortality for the next 15 years.
5. Two Pest Risk Assessments for Sudden Oak Death (SOD) by Canada and U. S. are available.
6. A Charter for a new NAFC Invasive Plant Working Group was developed and approved by the Bureau of Alternates. Both groups will meet jointly in 2006.
7. APHIS and USFS are now monitoring Asian Gypsy Moth populations around ports in Japan .
8. The USDA Forest Service is a member of the Asian Pacific Forest Commission (APFC) and met in Fiji and formed an Invasive Species Working Group.

Report of Activities Planned for 2006

1. Mexico requested cooperation on Dwarf Mistletoe management. Canada and the US will provide expert assistance for a field trip whose dates will be determined by Mexico.
2. Canada proposed an update/revision of the NAFC 1967 publication - Insect and Disease of North America on pests common to all three countries. As a first step, each country would develop a list of country pests that will be placed on the EXFOR website with Canada as coordinator.
3. Mexico and Canada will develop a Risk Paper on “Plants for Planting” for consideration and discussion by the Working Group.
4. Risk Map development requires inventory data coverage of NA from the Inventory & Monitoring Working Group. - The US inventory data is already completed. Canada and Mexico will obtain their country status on coverage on vegetation layer and plot system, and report back to I&D working group.
5. Mexico requested that the USDA Forest Service provide training and technology transfer on aerial pesticide application, aerial surveying, bark beetle monitoring, pine blister rust, and port monitoring.
6. Mexico proposed the development of a new bark beetle book for North America under the auspices of NAFC. Mexico will provide a prospectus on the book for consideration by the Working Group at the 2006 meeting.

Next Meeting

Canada will host the 2006 meeting with the theme of “Biological Control”. The Insect & Disease Working Group will meet jointly with the newly formed Invasive Plants Working Group on October 3 – 5, 2006 at the following location:

Fredericton Inn
Fredericton, NB, Canada
Tel: 1-800-561-8777