Commissioners in attendance: Ron Angel, Ben Barstow, Bob Berger, Kevin Corliss, Ann George, Bill Green, Andy Jensen, Doug Muse, Chuck Masters, Bill Mason, Bryan Sakuma, Herb Teas, Kurt Volker, Doug Walsh

Staff in attendance: Donna Gorham, Tracy Olberding, Alan Schreiber

Commissioners not in attendance: Joel Kangiser

Guests: David Bragg, WSU, Pete Bristow, WSU, John Brown, WSU, Rod Christensen, WA State Alfalfa Seed Commission, Lindsey du Toit, WSU, John Finley, Potlatch Corporation, Phil Hamm, OSU, Phil Hawman, Columbia Basin Grass Seed Growers, Robert Lambe, plant pathologist, Ted Maxwell, WSDA, Tim Miller, WSU, Patrick Moore, WSU, Martin Nicholson, WSU, Tom Peerbolt, private, Sandra Ristow, WSU, John Rumph, WSU, Becky Sisco, UCDavis - Western Region IR-4, Lynell Tanigoshi, WSU, Tedd Wildman, private, Joe Yenish, WSU

Chair Doug Muse called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.

Commissioners, staff and guests introduced themselves.

Chair Muse welcomed new Commissioner Kevin Corliss and invited him to introduce himself. Kevin Corliss said he has worked with grapes all his life, is a WSU graduate with a degree in horticulture. He is Director of Viticulture at Stimson Lane, is married and has two children, and likes to fly planes.

PUBLIC COMMENT
Chair Muse called for public comment. There were no comments.

FINANCIAL REPORT
Administrator Schreiber told Commissioners the December financial reports from WSU are not available. It is too early in the month. The reports are usually ready on the tenth of the month. The November reports do not include funding decisions made at the November Commission meeting. Schreiber said at the last meeting a total of $302,780 was allocated, leaving $497,220 available for allocation at this meeting. This figure assumes 18% forward allocation. The total of funding requests for this meeting is $541,249. Schreiber noted the Commission initially had $150,000 from "Jesernig dollars" and $62,440 was allocated at the last meeting leaving $87,560 for allocation at this meeting. Requests for "Jesernig dollars" for this meeting total $54,488. Schreiber said, in his opinion, the Commission could easily fund all the proposal requests for this meeting.

Kurt Volker asked if the "Jesernig dollars" would disappear after time. Schreiber replied there is no short answer. Schreiber is now discussing with WSU how to set up these funds. It appears to be a complicated issue since these are federal dollars. WSU has hired Sandy Christian back part-time to help work on this. Green said to remind WSU they accepted $150,000 from the Department of Ecology under the clean water act. Schreiber asked Green to e-mail that information to him. Schreiber recommended proceeding with proposal reviews.

Sandra Ristow presented Chair Muse and Schreiber a copy of a letter from Karl Boehmke, WSU Director of Planning and Budget. The letter said the legislature had reduced the non-instructional budget for WSU by 2% for the 2001-2003 biennium and the Governor is recommending further reductions of 5%. The letter said the amount available to WSCPR will be reduced to $980,000 in fiscal year 2002 and, if the Governor's recommendation is approved, the amount for fiscal year 2003 will be $931,000.

Schreiber said funding requests from this meeting and those funded at the last meeting total $419,000 for old mandate and $424,000 for new mandate. This is almost a perfect split between old and new mandate.

Chair Muse asked Commissioners for any questions. There were none.

ADMINISTRATOR'S REPORT
Schreiber said the 2002 Washington Pest Control Tour is tentatively scheduled for July 23-25. The format will be similar to past East-Side tours with a registration reception at the Doubletree in Pasco on Monday evening. Tuesday will cover the Yakima Valley, with lunch at WSU - Prosser IAREC, and dinner at Columbia Crest winery in Patterson. Stops on Tuesday will include apple, pear, cherry, wine and juice grapes, mint, grass seed, hops, currants, and perhaps a stop to look at a riparian barrier site. Wednesday will cover row crops of the Columbia Basin, onions, carrots, asparagus, vegetable seed, alfalfa, and clover. Lunch on Wednesday will be at WSU - Othello and dinner will be at the ADG, Inc. research farm. Thursday will cover the Walla Walla and the Palouse areas with a potential stop at a hybrid poplar site.

Volker noted at the last Commission meeting it was decided to try to increase legislative attendance. Invitations to legislators should go out as early as possible and be delivered in person as much as possible. Volker suggested putting rotational minor crops systems within major crops, i.e. sweet corn and potatoes and buckwheat after potatoes. This is a good opportunity to showcase some new locations. If a Commissioner knows a legislator, it would be appropriate for that Commissioner to extend a personal invitation.

Schreiber said after this meeting, a survey would be developed and sent out to researchers and commodity groups to evaluate and give feedback on the RFP process. This will provide valuable information for the next RFP. The survey will go out before the next Commission meeting and results will be finished before the July meeting for inclusion in the RFP revision. Volker suggested the executive committee work on the survey questions. Schreiber said he would put together the survey and send it to Commissioners for review.

Schreiber reviewed the process Commission staff used to review this set of proposals. Gorham, Olberding and Schreiber reviewed each proposal for different things, 20-30 minutes were spent on each proposal, necessary changes were e-mailed to requestors and noted in the file for each proposal. All the proposals being re-submitted did not follow the re-submittal policy of underlines and strikethroughs and due to the complexity of changes to James' proposals, areas of change were shaded on these proposals. Schreiber noted the RFP needs revision to the re-submittal policy. Several good proposals were returned due to being past the deadline.

Teas noted the Tree Fruit Research Council requires has a six-week deadline and WSCPR may need to extend the deadline to allow enough time for review. Volker expressed appreciation to the work done by Commission staff to review the proposals. Volker suggested immediately returning late proposals without comment besides stating the deadline has passed, also, if the proposal does not meet RFP guidelines. It is not appropriate for staff or Commissioners to go through and correct. Commissioners spend a lot of time reviewing and making notes; the RFP is not that hard to adhere to.

DISCUSSION
Chair Muse noted compared to year one, this is almost a completely different group of commissioners. New people need to be stewarded, both new Commissioners and researchers. Jensen said the WSPC does not accept late proposals, new submitters receive help, and he has the authority to reject the proposal if it is one day late. Jensen noted WSCPR proposals are more detailed than the WSPC proposals. Teas noted Schreiber is working two deadlines, one for receipt of the proposals and one for sending copies out to Commissioners for review before the meeting. Teas said to leave this to Schreiber's' discretion rather than dictate what he does. Schreiber commented he wants the administrative latitude to help researchers. At every meeting, the standards are being tightened and researchers are one meeting behind. The policies in place provide for very good projects and commodities that need research done are getting support.

Barstow said he is new at this and can see the process started out real simple. He agrees researchers should adhere to policy and the Commission is here to make sure work that needs to be done gets funded. Teas noted in the beginning, lots of money was available, now the situation is different and the quality of the proposals reflects on the quality of research. George said the deadline should be adhered to as close as possible and agreed with giving Schreiber discretion on how much time is allowed.

PROPOSAL PRESENTATIONS

02PN041 Evaluation of Novel Insecticides and Acaricides for the Rationale Control of Root Weevils and Mites in Strawberries
Lynell Tanigoshi, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $15,910 Co-funding $12,306
Lynell Tanigoshi said strawberries are ranked 36th in the state ag statistics and qualifies for "Jesernig dollars". Commission support is needed to help develop more efficacy trials to accelerate compounds through the IR-4 program. Older materials will be lost in the next two years, i.e. aphicides are all organophosphates. Aphids are vectoring a lot of plant viruses.

Barstow asked if both root weevil species are being looked at. Tanigoshi said only one. Barstow asked about application methods. Tanigoshi said if weevil control is after harvest the root weevil has already layed eggs in the soil and are untouchable. There was also a misunderstanding that weevils die in the winter. Two overlapping generations are present, those that over-winter and the new summer generation. Tanigoshi is pushing for April application to take out the female before eggs are layed.

02PN042 Insect and Mite Control in Red Raspberry
Lynell Tanigoshi, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $18,318 Co-funding $17,120
Lynell Tanigoshi said the red raspberry industry has reduced by 40% available research money due to litigation expenses. He is asking the Commission for support and noted 2001 ag statistics places red raspberry at 20th place. He is asking for "Jesernig dollars". New compounds need to be fast tracked. Green mosquitoes, which have not been seen for years, are a problem. They are easy to kill but no product is registered. The western raspberry fruitworm comes in early and feeds on the bloom, the primary lateral dies and the secondary laterals are not as productive. Monitoring and efficacy trials are needed.

Volker asked for budget clarification on $1,000 for travel and $3,000 for equipment. Tanigoshi said travel is for trips from Vancouver and Lynden and the amount requested will not cover all travel expenses. The amount for equipment is for renovation and modification of a Rears boom and plot sprayer. The key is timing and application. Jensen asked if the red raspberry and strawberry Commissions had approved funding. Tanigoshi said they had. Schreiber noted WSCPR had received confirmation of co-funding.

02AN053 Development of an IPM Program for Leafrollers in Caneberries
Lynell Tanigoshi, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $15,000 Co-funding $21,840
Tom Peerbolt, a private consultant involved in field monitoring with berry growers, said they are looking for additional funding to support Tanigoshi's work. The project is very labor intensive and new objectives have been added. A newsletter has been added to notify growers on application timing. This is the third year of the project and lots of data needs to be analyzed. WSU and Tanigoshi have been backing the project with labor, but due to the cutbacks at WSU, more support is needed.

Berger asked if publication costs are included in the budget. Peerbolt responded those costs are included in temporary labor costs and it will be time-slip labor. Barstow said this is the third year of the project and this is the first year they are asking for dollars from WSCPR. Peerbolt said that was correct. Volker asked in the ranking and prioritization section, how much is factual and how much is informational that pesticides are often lethal to bees, and pesticides are harmful to many birds. Peerbolt said he is not going to defend those statements. At the time of bloom, bees are in the fields. The timing of the hatch is primarily the problem and often they pull the bees out before pollination is finished. The need is to find softer controls.

Chair Muse invited Commissioner's to break for lunch at 12:10 p.m.

The meeting resumed at 12:30 p.m.

Lynell Tanigoshi asked for clarification on project report guidelines. Schreiber replied a report completed for a commodity commission would be acceptable to the Commission as a project report and a copy should be sent to the Commission office for. Schreiber also suggested looking at the RFP.

PROPOSAL PRESENTATIONS
02PG040 Magnitude of the Residue of the Insecticides Diflubenzuron on Barley and Bifenazate on Potatoes
Rebecca Sisco, IR-4 University of California, Davis
WSCPR Request $45,000 Co-funding $185,700
Becky Sisco said this project is on diflubenzuron on barley and bifenazate on potatoes. Uniroyal is providing support for processing. Residue data will be generated to support tolerances for minor crops and to support Section 18 requests for both these products.

Schreiber noted Sisco has been this position with IR-4 for six months and she is responsible for the field residue trials. This proposal started out with ten projects and was scaled back to these two. The commodity groups feel strongly about these two. George asked if work had already been done on bifenazate. Jensen said no. Schreiber said residue data is needed for a Section 18. The Potato Commission funded some of the residue work. The residue data must be redone because the rate used last year was not in line with the protocol.

02PN049 Control and Management of Common Smut on Corn in the Columbia Basin of Washington and Oregon
Philip Hamm, Oregon State University
WSCPR Request $ 17,300 Co-funding $20,700
Phil Hamm thanked the Commission for past funding. This project is a collaborative project with support from industry processor; i.e. Simplot, Watts Brothers, and Smith Brothers. Common Smut was not an issue prior to 1996, it appeared first in sweet corn field in Hermiston and now is present in Moses Lake. Over 100,000 acres primarily in Washington are affected. Growers are affected by reduced yields and quality. Smut is a fungus that forms galls on sweet corn and the spores cause problems with cobbettes and cob corn quality.

Berger asked for clarification of funding on dissemination of information under item six of the procedures section. Hamm replied travel funding is used to cover expenses for extension meetings away from Hermiston and most travel dollars are for applications.

02PN052 Improving Grass Seed Production Practices for the Columbia Basin Region of Eastern Washington
Philip Hamm, Oregon State University
WSCPR Request $ 27,000 Co-funding $58,350
Phil Hamm said this is a co-operative project with grass seed growers, represented by Phil Hawman. Grass seed is a new crop in the Columbia Basin; acreage of blue grass in Washington has increased 42% between 1999 and 2000. The growing conditions in the Columbia Basin present new issues with overhead irrigation and sandy soil. This proposal will include weed issues, growth regulators research, disease control and dissemination of information.

Phil Hawman said he raises seed and runs a seed cleaning plant. His plant processes seed from Washington and Oregon. The ongoing need for chemicals is great. The Hermiston research station is one of a few in the country with center pivot systems to simulate growing conditions. Growers pay an assessment of $2/acre. Research has narrowed the list of chemicals down to two that will work. As the owner of a seed plant, Hawman said a clean batch of seed is important, not all of the weeds can be taken out in processing.

Schreiber asked what percentage of acreage is in Washington. Hawman said one third is in Washington. Schreiber asked if all growers pay the assessment. Hawman said yes. At the field day in May, it was very crowded and 75% of the people attending were from Washington.

02PN061 Herbicide Trials for Canola and Rapeseed
Joe Yenish, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $8,143 Co-funding $5,000
Joe Yenish said this is a continuation of a project that was funded last year. This project is looking at efficacy data for herbicides for IR-4. The future of the industry is up in the air in Washington and the Washington Canola/Rapeseed Commission approached him directly. The products looked at last showed promise in controlling Russian thistle and bedstraw.

Ben Barstow noted this seems parallel to mustard, and asked why not put the two together. Schreiber said he had asked Yenish to submit separate proposals and noted they are different crops and will not be exactly the same. Yenish said different treatments will be used and there is more need for grass control in mustard. The EPA lists them in different crop groups. Barstow asked if he was using commercial fields. Yenish said the planting is done in grower's fields and they may use WSU research land.

02PN062 Wild Oat Control in Seedling Kentucky Bluegrass for Seed
Joe Yenish, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $9,143 Co-funding $7,500
Joe Yenish said he was approached by the Washington Turfgrass Seed Commission to do work on wild oat control in Kentucky blue grass. Growers are not happy with control with existing compounds. The work will be done on grower's fields.

Teas asked if funding from the Seed Commission was approved. Yenish said it was confirmed. George asked what the co-funding was used for. Yenish said mostly hourly labor. Walsh noted the Turfgrass Seed Commission put half their total budget into this project.

02PN063 Herbicide Trials for Yellow Mustard
Joe Yenish, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $7,540 Co-funding $5,000
Joe Yenish said he was approached by the commodity commission to continue this work. This work has been funded in the past.

Muse asked how many acres of yellow mustard. Yenish said 2,500 to 4,000.

02PN046 Efficacy of Interceptor, A New Certified Organic Herbicide, and Scythe as Caneburners
Tim Miller, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $2,250 Co-funding $2,250
Tim Miller said cane burning is commonly done to kill primocanes before they grow up. This process is equally for organic or conventional fields. No products are available in the organic. This project will look at pine oil, which has been used in New Zealand. The registrant is interested. The other product is Scythe and will look at fine tuning rates for application. Goal is the conventional standard. The work will be done at WSU-Vancouver. The request is for $2,250 from WSCPR and $2,250 from "Jesernig dollars". Alex McErlich with Small Planet Foods is also interested in this research.

Berger asked if any machine harvest of organic raspberries was done. Miller said machine harvest is used on all. Berger asked if any support was available from organic growers. Miller said the organic growers are not in a position to support.

02PN056 A Test of Phytotoxicity and Efficacy of New Fungicides for Control of Seed Decay and Seedling Disease of Conifer Tree Seedlings
Bob Lambe, Lambe and Associates
WSCPR Request $13,400 Co-funding $7,200
Bob Lambe, plant pathologist and OSU graduate, said he has spent the last six years working with the forest industry. All the research has been done under nursery conditions. Lambe thanked the Commission for last years funding and said the results are promising. This proposal is looks at causes of seed rot and damping off. A seed treatment fungicide is needed and Gustafson is supporting the project. Seed treatment is followed by drench and drenches are new products listed as researchable by IR-4.

Chuck Masters said this is a continuing effort in the forest industry to get a cooperative arrangement. Last years agreement worked great.

Commissioners discussed including matching from Weyerhaeuser and noted the percentage of match would be much higher if this was captured.

02PN038 Fungicidal Control of Neck Rot of Onion Seed Crops in Washington
Lindsey du Toit, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $4,410 Co-funding $4,910 Jesernig $4,410
Lindsey du Toit said this project is to look at fungicide efficacy. The seed growers asked her to work on the project and are supporting with co-funding of $4,410. The grower co-operative is providing the field. This is a very high value product and crop-destruct funds are being requested.

02PN035 Biology and Management of Leaf Spot of Spinach Seed Crops in Western Washington
Lindsey du Toit, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $5,485 Co-funding $12,970 Jesernig $5,485
Lindsey du Toit said this project is on spinach seed and the commodity group asked her to work on Stemphylium botryosum, which is a new pathogen. Existing products do not control Stemphylium. This project will look at assaying seed lots to determine if the fungus is seed born. A lot of background work is needed.

Barstow asked how long the project is expected to last. Du Toit said the initial screening is two years but she sees the project extending farther, there is so much to find out.

Commissioners questioned the budget amounts. du Toit said seed assay increases the component expense and $7,000 in other services covers seed assays, field trial with 40 plots and lab expenses.

Volker asked about the third proposal of du Toit's. Schreiber said there was a breakdown in the approval cycle and it arrived too late for consideration at this meeting. Schreiber asked du Toit if later funding would impact the project. du Toit said changes could be made to accommodate later funding.

02AN019 Integrated Pest Management of Lygus Species in Seed Crops
John Rumph, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $22,376 Co-funding $19,900
Teas noted this is a re-submittal and Rumph is not required to re-present. Rod Christensen representing seed growers of the northwest said grower and commodity commission support includes $19,900. Schreiber asked if all was from the alfalfa seed industry and how much was from Washington. Christensen said the majority will come from Washington and times are tough and the groups are small. Schreiber asked for clarification on the connection to WSU. Rumph said he is doing the research, Walsh will oversee the project for WSU and he will work directly with the Washington State Alfalfa Seed Commission.

02AN064 Development of Pest Management Strategies in Riparian Buffer Zones
Doug Walsh, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $19,600 Co-funding $36,000
Doug Walsh said the sponsor is Olson Brothers with matching from the apple industry. Distinct results are seen between the different zones areas. The data is needed to educate growers and to gain grower support to maintain the process. Walsh is asking for funds for technical support. The tree fruit industry is supportive.

Teas asked if they are altering these unmanaged sites. Walsh said they want to determine if they come in with soft herbicides while developing preferred native plants.

02AN039 Duff Management: An IPM Approach to Control the Douglas-fir Cone Gall Midge
Chuck Masters, Weyerhaeuser Company
WSCPR Request $16,388 Co-funding $ 21,412
Chuck Masters said the projects would attempt to develop an IPM to control cone gall midge in Douglas fir seed orchards. The gall midge has a unique ecological nitch, in the spring the adult attacks the seed comb, when the gall midge hatches, it forms a gall that will fuse the seeds or scale of the comb. When harvest is attempted, the seed cannot get out. A severe infestation will destroy the field. In the fall, the larvae drop out of the comb; spin a cocoon in the spent pollen buds and re-emerges in the spring to infect. If this material is vacuumed, a 75% reduction of emergence is possible. The intent of this project is to better understand the operational feasibility of this approach.

Masters noted the real value is for those with environmental restrictions, i.e., the BLM cannot use insecticides and are limited to one product. Jensen asked what role Weyerhaeuser had. Masters said Weyerhaeuser is a participant in the research and is providing project leadership to the research team. They are the biggest producer of Douglas-fir seed. Teas noted in-kind figures from Weyerhaeuser's contribution need to be captured.

02PN020 Chemical Control of Seedcorn Maggot in Washington State Carrots
Doug Walsh, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $6,000 Co-funding $1,500 Jesernig $6,000
Doug Walsh said this is a re-submittal. Volker asked if one circle or multiple circles would be used. Walsh said actual monitoring of flights would be on multiple circles. For efficacy work, he wants to keep the plot size small. Todd Crosby of Mercer Ranch did not limit acreage; he is very serious about this and wants it done on a commercial scale.

Minutes for the following presentations are not available due to a failure of the disk drive on the laptop computer.

02PN047 Gray Mold Fruit Rot of Strawberry: Improving Fungicide Timing by Determining When Infection Takes Place
Pete Bristow, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $6,000 Co-funding $6,660

02PN048 Field Evaluation of Fungicides for Control of Gray Mold Fruit Rot on Red Raspberry.
Pete Bristow, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $7,500 Co-funding $17,570

02AN044 Spider Mite and Virus Management in Edamame
Pete Bristow for Carol Miles, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $5,060 Co-funding $5,060

02AN037 Organic Raspberry Production and Root Rot Control
Pete Bristow for Carol Miles, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $8,000 Co-funding $8,000

02AN045 Acquisition of a Mechanical Red Raspberry Harvester for Pest Management Studies at WSU-VREU
Martin Nicholson, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $4,750 Co-funding $3,000

02AN043 Breeding Strawberries for Fruit Rot Resistance
Patrick Moore, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $6,960 Co-funding $6,690

02PN066 Control of Insect Vectored Silver Top Fungus in Grass Seed Fields PNW Region Using Soft Insecticides
Dave Bragg, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $24,500 Co-funding $61,500
After discussion, Dave Bragg agreed to withdraw his proposal and resubmit at the March meeting.

02AN036 Development of an IPM Program for Poplar Plantings
Doug Walsh, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $14,335 Co-funding $24,000

02AN034 Integrated Disease Management of Potato White Mold
Dennis Johnson, Washington State University
Andrew Jensen, Washington State Potato Commission
WSCPR Request $13,000 Co-funding $27,000

Schreiber presented Tedd Wildman with a plaque in recognition of his outstanding service as a founding commissioner and as chair from 1998 to 1999.

Chair Muse adjourned the meeting for the day at approximately 5:00 p.m.

Commissioners in attendance: Ron Angel, Ben Barstow, Bob Berger, Kevin Corliss, Ann George, Bill Green, Andy Jensen, Doug Muse, Chuck Masters, Bill Mason, Bryan Sakuma, Herb Teas, Kurt Volker, Doug Walsh

Staff in attendance: Donna Gorham, Tracy Olberding, Alan Schreiber

Guests: John Aguirre, Oregon Association of Nurserymen, Barry Bai, Oregon Department of Agriculture, John Brown, WSU, Daniel Cheney, Pacific Shellfish Institute, Christian Grue, University of Washington WACFWRU, David James, WSU, Kathleen Johnson, Oregon Department of Agriculture, Ted Maxwell, WSDA, Michael McCubbins, Cal/West Seeds, Alec McErlich, Small Planet, Foods, Terry Miller, WSU, Kim Patten, WSU, Renee˘ Prasad, WSU, Sandra Ristow, WSU, Brian Sheldon, oyster growers, Walter (Steve) Sheppard, WSU, John Stark, WSU

Chair Doug Muse called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m.

Commissioners, staff and guests introduced themselves.

PROPOSAL PRESENTATIONS
02AN057 Biology and Integrated Management of Flea Beetles in Western Washington
John Stark, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $13,682 Co-funding $13,682
John Stark said this is the last year of this project on flea beetles in potatoes. In the first year, field trials were done with five foliar chemicals. Two of the five had excellent results. This insect causes incredible damage and growers want more information on the biology of the insect. This year single versus multiple applications will be looked at. This information will lead to a good IPM program.

Bob Berger asked why no crop destruction costs were included. Stark said there is crop destruction costs and the grower absorbed those. Berger also questioned projected expenses by quarter that started with July-September 2001. Stark said all quarterly dates should have one year added to them.

02AN059 Biological Control of the Cherry bark Tortrix, Enarmonia formosana (Scopoli) in the Pacific Northwest
Barry Bai and Kathleen Johnson, Oregon Department of Agriculture
WSCPR Request $23,680 Co-funding $40,680
Barry Bai, entomologist with the Oregon Department of Agriculture, said this project is supported by the industry. John Aguirre, Executive Director of the Oregon Association of Nurserymen was present and represented the industry. Bai said this proposal is on Cherry bark Tortrix (CBT). The pest was first detected in 1989 in British Columbia, two years later it was found in Washington and has been found in Oregon in 2000. The insect kills cherry trees and other woody rosaceous plants. The industry in Washington and Oregon support this research. Bai has worked with Lynell Tanigoshi for the last 4-5 years on this pest. The project is based on basic knowledge gained from the last few years of study. This phase of the project is intended to emphasize biological control.

Commissioners requested a corrected budget page. George asked if a natural population would be established with the parasitoid releases. Bai said it is an augmentative release. George asked if the Seattle population has reached a level to sustain themselves. Bai said last season was the first year this was started. Volker asked about the director of the Niles Biological Control Lab making a strong case to gear up their mass rearing of T. cacoeciae for weekly shipments for field releases and what if that fails. Bai said the director did not anticipate a problem with the budget, but a facility is available at WSU to take it over if needed. Volker asked why no support was provided by the City of Portland or the other cities involved. Bai said this is new and they need to be educated. Bai said he hopes to have support similar to Seattle's, probably in the form of in-kind support. Berger said recognizing this is a bio-control project, in the nursery industry and home and garden and public places, they are readily controlling CBT through synthetic insecticides, so there is no jeopardy to the nursery industry for possible restrictions on shipments. Bai said there are chemicals that are effective and the nursery industry has weapons. John Aguirre said the nursery industry is dealing with recent negative publicity with regard to pesticide use and the industry needs softer controls and strongly supports this project. Schreiber said a letter of support from a Washington group is needed. WSCPR has a letter of support from Oregon and readily funds projects in Oregon. Schreiber asked what the benefit was to Washington. Kathleen Johnson, an entomologist with the Oregon Department of Agriculture, said this pest is of great concern to the industry and the general population. This has been caught on the leading edge and researchers are well positioned to test this as a way to control CBT. If research can show this is a way to slow the spread of CBT, there are direct implications to the fruit tree industry and nursery industry in Washington. Teas noted keeping CBT out of orchards is of high interest to the tree fruit industry. Berger noted there should be no problem getting a letter of support from the Washington State Nursery and Landscape Association and funding should be contingent on receipt of the letter. Berger said it is an excellent project.

02AN054 Conservation Biological Control for Cole Crop Pests
John Brown for William Snyder, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $15,000 Jesernig $15,000
John Brown said this project is on cole crops. Brown said the principle investigator; William Snyder was unable to attend this meeting. Snyder sent his graduate student, Renee˘ Prasad, to present the proposal. Brown noted John Stark and Alec McErlich would also be involved in the project. Prasad said the project is located in the Mt. Vernon area of the Skagit Valley and they will be looking at conventional and organic production. Prasad said the objective is to learn more about the natural enemies of cole crop pests. Natural enemies will be monitored during the growing season and field experiments will be done to try to understand which natural enemies are effective against which specific pest.

Volker said this project is a terrific blend of conventional and organic methods and complimented Prasad on the objectives and statement of purpose. Berger said this was an outstanding project and asked why there was no money from the industry. Prasad said seed growers are a small commodity, funding was requested from the Organic Farming Research Foundation and was rejected because specific growers were not listed. Prasad said growers have been identified and she does not see a problem with funding. Berger asked if a cooperator might provide some in-kind support. John Stark said this is possible but this is a small commodity and the concern is they are expected to provide 1:1 support. Commissioners noted WSCPR will be reporting to the legislature and it is important to document grower support for the Commission.

02AN055 Developing a Pest Monitoring Plan for Burrowing Shrimp: A Step Towards Implementing Integrated Pest Management in Oyster Aquaculture
Daniel Cheney, Pacific Shellfish Institute
WSCPR Request $24,610 Co-funding $20,236
Dan Cheney said this is the final phase of a three-year project to determine what level of burrowing can be tolerated and what the economic loss is. Brian Sheldon, an oyster grower, said burrowing shrimp is a massive problem and monitoring is critical to developing a pest management program.

Commissioners asked if this was the final year or if more funding would be requested to complete the report. Cheney said this is the final year, this is a very complex database, and the intent was to study a complete 3-year growth cycle. Teas asked about the in-kind budget for shellfish grower meetings. Cheney said this included time for attending grower meetings to provide information to the growers.

02AN026 Effects of Rodeo and R-11, R-11, LI700, Agri-dex, and Hasten on Fertilization and Embryogenesis in Pacific Oysters
Chris Grue, University of Washington
WSCPR Request $25,182 Co-funding $56,520
This is a re-submittal. Chris Grue highlighted changes made to the original proposal to meet RFP guidelines. Grue noted the number of surfactants has increased, grower contributions were documented and the amount requested from WSCPR was reduced.

02PN058 Screening of Alternative Methods to Manage Burrowing Shrimp Infestations on Bivalve Shellfish Grounds
Kim Patten, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $26,660 Co-funding $17,995 Jesernig $8,650
Kim Patten said this project would look at alternatives to burrowing shrimp control. The project will look at mechanical control, there is a lot of old data regarding crushing but current data is needed. Brian Sheldon said he is on the advisory committee for NPDS on carbamyl and not a lot of formal studies have been done. The time line was changed by NPDS and data is needed to support alternative methods.

Barstow asked for clarification on the timeline. Patten said if funding is approved, screening will start this spring along with crushing and explosion, chemical work will be done in summer and they will be finished with the data by late summer. George asked if it is possible to clean up the bed before planting the new crop of oysters. Sheldon said control of the bed lasts 3-10 years and ground can be reclaimed with effective control.

02AN050 Field Evaluation of a New Strain of Aphidius colemani against Myzus persicae and Other Pest Aphids in Organic Cropping Systems (potato) Using Within Field Natural Enemy Banks and Artificial Outbreak Foci
Terry Miller, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $10,300 Co-funding $10,300
Terry Miller said the project is a field evaluation of a species of wasp from Chile. Both organic and conventional practices will be evaluated. Other species of natural enemies will be looked at. It takes about 7-8 years to reach a level that is effective. It is important to get the colemani into the fields early in the season. These methods appear to work best in organic potatoes, but can be used for other cropping systems that have aphid problems. Most fields are clean and provide no over-winter area. Natural enemy banks are needed to maintain the population.

Teas asked the temperature range of the parasitoid. Miller said it is active at about 65°F. Volker asked for justification or a change in wording in the prioritization and ranking section. Volker felt the statements were inaccurate and do not apply to aphicide materials used. Volker noted the Commission is dedicated to IPM and the correct use of pesticides as a component of IPM. Volker said he liked the project but found the justification inaccurate. Miller said they are looking at supporting organics and are looking at soft chemicals. Commissioners agreed some of the statements came across offensive. Miller said they were not critical to his proposal and the intent was to speak in general terms. Alec McErlich said a lot of information is to be gained with this project looking at the full potential of biologicals and this information can have an impact on conventional practices.

02PN065 Crop Protection Plan for Clover Grown for Seed in Washington - 2002
Mike McCubbins, Cal/West Seeds
WSCPR Request $7,500 Co-funding $3,500 Jesernig $3,500
Mike McCubbins said clover seed is a minor crop and there is little funding available for this crop. There is not a lot of information available on clover. The company and growers support research with funds. Since 1997, 4-5 pesticides have been added or retained with the help of the Commission. McCubbins has talked to growers about whether they can afford to continue supporting research and the response has been positive.

Muse asked what the market for clover seed was and why there is an increase in acreages. McCubbins said the market is in the mid-west and southern states where growing conditions are very good. Overseas markets are also still open. Berger asked for clarification on budget items. Schreiber said this was work he had done and was the best estimate available. Volker asked how many broad leaf candidates were to be screened. Schreiber said 12-16 treatments.

02AN002 Beneficial Arthropods in Washington Hop Yards: Screening the Impact of Pesticides on Survival and Function
David James, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $13,811 Co-funding $14,811
This is a re-submittal. David James highlighted changes made to the budget and procedures sections. James said a summary of progress was included at the end of the report.

02AN003 Beneficial Arthropods in Washington Vineyards: Screening the Impact of Pesticides on Survival and Function
David James, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $13,811 Co-funding $14,811
This is a re-submittal. David James highlighted changes made to the budget and procedures sections. James said a summary of progress was included. This research is fundamental to the IPM program on grapes.

02AN004 Development of the Sex Pheromone of Currant Stem Girdler as a Management Tool
David James, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $6,145 Jesernig $6,145
This is a re-submittal. David James highlighted changes made to the budget. This is a new project and is important to the red currant industry. There are only two red currant growers in Washington State, with 78 acres combined; British Columbia has greater acreage. The industry is very interested in the success of this project to characterize the pheromone of the stem girdler.

Commissioners said the budget amount for travel seemed high. James agreed the amount could be cut to $300.

02AN023 Integrated Management of the Honey Bee Parasitic Mite, Varroa destructor, in Washington State
Steve Sheppard, Washington State University
WSCPR Request $15,000 Co-funding $16,950 Jesernig $11,000
This is a re-submittal. Steve Sheppard highlighted the changes made to the budget. This is a new project. This project is based on previous work that resulted in registration and was funded by WSPCR.

Commissioners said this is a great story for the legislative report. Berger asked for clarification on the potential dollar savings to the industry. Sheppard said the figure was 1.2 million dollars per year. Volker said information on the general criteria section was missing. Berger asked for clarification on the amount of employee benefits listed. Teas noted if tuition is included in the benefits, the amount would be high.

OTHER BUSINESS
Chair Muse said Bill Green had a presentation for the Commission.

Green provided Commissioners with information on how the forward allocation process works at the Department of Ecology.

Green continued with a second issue. Green proposed to the Commission to increase the appropriation to WSU by up to $20,000 to provide for a full time person in the Pesticide Information Center to work on pesticide management strategic plans (PMS Plans). These plans are a comprehensive look at all the pesticides used by a given commodity. The plans identify specific research needs for each commodity and will have an impact on the Commission. These plans will also allow for additional outreach to commodity groups to expand the number of projects coming to WSCPR. The additional staff is needed to accomplish this task. There are major advantages to doing this now; it will provide education to commodity groups, provide information to regulatory agencies and identify research needs. Green urged Commissioners to move quickly to protect grower interests.

Commissioners discussed previous work done on crop profiles. Green said crop profile is part of the plan and some commodities have already requested profiles be done. Commissioners asked if WSU had agreed to this. Green said WSU had agreed to fund the balance of the position and he was delegated to present this to the Commission at a meeting on December 6 with all the involved agencies. Ted Maxwell said a concern at the meeting was how this was going to work and who would drive which strategic plans are developed. It appeared Agriculture or Ecology would drive which plan would be worked on first and he did not think that was appropriate. Green said the permit process in Ecology was the driver and Katherine Daniels is working on the criteria. George noted crop profiles need to be updated on an annual basis and if the commodity is interested in going after certain types of grants that require crop profiles, the commodity group should take ownership of the crop profile. George said this is creating a major infrastructure dedicated to preparation and annual update of 200 plus crop profiles and PMSP's.

Commissioners expressed concerns over potential impacts to the Commissions ability to fund good proposals when requests exceed the funds available. Policy may need to be developed to prioritize certain types of projects over others or to cut a percentage of funding across all proposals funded.

Chair Muse asked Commissioners what action is needed. Commissioners indicated a proposal from WSU was needed to specify what the funding would be for and to provide more detail on the project and type of personnel involved and other sources of funding for the position. A lot of concerns and questions have not been answered. Chair Muse asked Green to come back at the next meeting with more information and an individual from WSU to address these concerns and questions.

Commissioner George asked for an executive session. Chair Muse asked guests and staff to leave the meeting room.

Further discussion on the WSU proposal to increase efforts on crop profiles and PMSP's was heard. Reconsideration of request to set aside $20,000 before other funding in encumbered at this meeting. Commissioner Green provided additional discussion and information. Green proposed to set aside up to $20,000, with the decision on whether to encumber those funds to be made by the Executive Committee via conference call.

Conclusion of executive session. Staff and guests returned to the meeting.

PROPOSAL DECISIONS
Schreiber explained how the worksheet with proposal scores was put together. Scores are entered and averaged for each proposal, and then the list is sorted by average score. Schreiber noted enough funds are available to fund all the projects presented if forward allocation is used.

Chair Muse said $497,220 is available for funding.

DISCUSSION
Masters said this proposal has taken one little piece of the breeding program time line and asked for funding for that little piece. Angel suggested postponing the decision on this proposal until the next meeting because this is too important of an issue to make a quick decision.

Volker noted several proposals contain statements in the ranking and prioritization section that are not accurate. The proposals need to be amended to justify the statements or to delete the statements. Volker listed the following proposals that fall into this group: 02AN002, 02AN003, 02AN004, 02AN019, 02AN026, 02AN037, 02AN039, 02PN041, 02AN044, 02AN050, 02AN053, and 02AN059.

Chair Muse asked Commissioners if there were any other issues to discuss before moving on to funding decisions.

Bob Berger noted it was inappropriate for the proposal 02AN045 to show a 10-year commitment. Commissioners agreed the agreement was for one year of funding at a time all along. Schreiber said a note will be included in the award letter that funding is for one year at a time.

Berger asked for a reduction in the travel funding for 02AN004 to $300 if the project is funded.

George asked if the "Jesernig dollars" should be looked at individually or if the Administrator would assign funding in agreement to Teas' earlier motion. Schreiber said it would be easiest to let him assign the amounts.

DISCUSSION
Muse asked if the proposals are re-written would it change the funding decision. Commissioners agreed funding decisions would not be changed and this is a matter of public record and the files should be accurate. It is also an opportunity to educate researchers as to the future of the Commission. The award letter would include the request to re-write or delete the statements. John Brown agreed with the Commission there is no proof to support these statements.

Chair Muse said he would list the projects and if no comments were made, the project would be approved.

The following projects were listed, no comments were made and the projects were approved: 02AN026, 02AN059, 02AN019, 02AN023, 02AN044, 02PG040, 02AN055, 02PN061, 02AN004, 02PN020, 02PN041, 02PN056, 02AN037, 02AN053, 02PN042, 02PN062, 02AN050, 02PN058, 02PN065, 02AN002, 02AN003, 02PN063, 02AN045 and 02PN047.

02AN039 - George asked about ownership of the equipment, and noted funding to date has been to a public entity. George felt this was another policy issue for the Commission. Schreiber said the award letter would include a request for a statement of ownership.

The following projects were listed, no comments were made and the projects were approved: 02PN048, 02PN052, 02AN054, 02AN034, and 02PN049.

02AN036 - Berger had a general question as to whether this commodity was within the scope of the Commission because this hybrid poplar is going into saw lumber production.

The following projects were listed, no comments were made and the projects were approved: 02AN057, 02AN064, 02PN046, 02PN035, and 02PN038.

Bill Green noted the state legislature had passed a bill last session declaring hybrid poplar plantations to be an agricultural commodity.

Schreiber noted at the next meeting an outline of the legislative report will be done, various issues with WSU will be discussed, the form of the financial report will be presented and other items from previous meetings that were deferred. The next meeting is on March 13, at the Hallmark Inn in Moses Lake.

George noted other items for the next meeting include a policy discussions on using salaries as matching money, indirect costs issues, and using grower meeting participation as match. Muse suggested discussion on travel issues. Green suggested starting a policy manual. Schreiber noted the Commission has a policy/orientation manual for new Commissioners that is about 20 pages. Schreiber committed to bring the policy document to the next meeting.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Chair Muse noted one other item of business was the election of officers. Muse opened the nominations for Chair, Vice-Chair, and Treasurer.

Newly elected Chair Herb Teas presented outgoing Chair Doug Muse with a plaque in recognition of his outstanding service as chair of WSCPR from 2000 to 2002 and his contribution to Pacific Northwest agriculture.

Chair Teas adjourned the meeting at 2:00 p.m.

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