Special Projects

The Southern Region annually submits funding requests to the Chief for projects designed to develop, improve, transfer or demonstrate new forest health protection technology, pesticide assessments, or forest health monitoring projects. Below is a brief synopsis of the funding opportunities and is followed by tables showing lists of Southern Region projects.

The Special Technology Development Project (STDP) Program was established to accelerate the transfer of research findings into practical uses that contribute to fulfilling FHP program goals.

Projects contribute to FHP's ability to:

• Provide forest health protection for all lands
  
• Anticipate and respond to new or increasing forest health risks and threats
  
• Prevent, detect, and manage non-indigenous pest infestations
  
• Manage damaging native pest infestations (prevention and suppression)
  

In any science-based discipline, theory and research are building blocks for progress and growth. But without real-world application the benefits of research are not realized. Nationally over 200 projects have been funded since fiscal year 1990. The range of projects includes risk assessments, semiochemical evaluations, demonstrations of integrated pest management techniques, simulation and visualization models of insect and pathogen impacts, development of pest control techniques, and evaluation of the effects of management tools such as prescribed burning, spraying, and thinning.

Pest Trend-Impact Plot Systems (PTIPS) is a series of permanent plots for the purpose of data collection and monitoring of pest trends, behavior and impacts in diverse forest types and a variety of environmental conditions over time.

PTIPS was initiated in the West, so the majority of plots are located throughout Regions 1-6 and 10. In the past few years the program has grown to include the south and northeastern area.

The Forest Service Pesticide Impact Assessment Program (FSPIAP) sponsors studies of the benefits and risks of pesticides registered by the US Environmental Protection Agency for use in forest and rangeland management. FSPIAP studies are designed to fill in data gaps for pesticide registration.

The Evaluation Monitoring (EM) project component of the Forest Health Monitoring program is designed to determine the extent, severity, and causes of undesirable changes in forest health identified through Detection Monitoring (DM) and other means. The need for EM projects arises when significant forest health changes or trends are found in DM. EM also provides additional information about forest health improvements such as improved plant vigor resulting from air pollution abatement.

Base EM Projects: The purpose of a Base Evaluation Monitoring project is to investigate issues or concerns identified in the Detection Monitoring phase of FHM. Proposed projects are one to three years in duration and help explain the extent, severity, and/or cause of a phenomenon observed during Detection Monitoring.

Fire Plan EM Projects: The purpose of a Fire Plan Evaluation Monitoring project is to investigate and explain the extent, severity, and/or cause of a fire-related phenomenon observed in Detection Monitoring. General target areas include: risk reduction, fuel loading, ecological impacts of fires, invasive species, and restoration or fire-damaged ecosystems.

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USDA Forest Service - Forest Health Protection, Southern Region
Last Modified: Monday, 14 January 2013 at 09:40:59 EST