A symposium is planned for April 13, 2010 in Boise, Idaho to highlight and explore ways to protect and improve water quality with the implementation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices. This one day symposium will be attractive and beneficial to a diverse group of professionals throughout the West. University Extension educators and specialists, along with government specialists, and NGOs will benefit by participating in the symposium. Networking opportunities and exploring research and Extension ideas for addressing the connections between integrated pest management and water quality will be available. The symposium will feature a keynote speaker from USDA/National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and a variety of IPM, water quality, and social science experts from around the western region. Small group discussions will be featured to determine emerging issues and potential joint projects. Small groups will help to determine outputs, desired outcomes, and potential impacts of new projects and explore possible funding opportunities. Lisa Downey-Blecker demonstrating how to scout a field for pests. Scouting is a fundamental element in an IPM program. Photo by Wayne Jones, UI Extension. Used with permission.

We will hear information on “case studies” where watersheds have measured changes in water quality and best management practices effectiveness. Information on water quality indicators and how to measure impacts of program effectiveness will be discussed, along with how to develop IPM tactics to demonstrate positive water quality impacts. Additionally, we will learn what pesticide residues are present in western waters and what the toxicological impacts are on the ecosystem. A social scientist will help us explore the human dimensions of working in watershed groups and discuss the science of creating behavioral changes. Symposium participants will divide into small groups during the afternoon session. Each small group will be asked to design a feasible future water quality/IPM project. The project planning session will utilize the Logic Model process to determine what resources are needed, identification of the desired outcomes, and what short-term and long-term impacts will need to be measured in order to provide a successful water quality/IPM program. Multi-state and multi-disciplinary program ideas will be explored and encouraged during the symposium.

Pacific Northwest Regional Water Quality Coordination Project Partners Land Grant Universities Alaska Cooperative Extension Service Contact Fred Sorensen: 907-786-6311 http://www.uaf.edu/ces/water/ University Publications: http://www.alaska.edu/uaf/ces/publications/ Idaho University of Idaho Cooperative Extension System Contact Bob Mahler: 208-885-7025 http://www.uidaho.edu/wq/wqhome.html University Publications: http://info.ag.uidaho.edu/Catalog/catalog.html Oregon Oregon State University Extension Service Contact Mike Gamroth: 541-737-3316 http://extension.oregonstate.edu/ University Publications: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/ Washington Washington State University WSU Extension Contact Bob Simmons: 360-427-9670 ext. 690 http://wawater.wsu.edu/ University Publications: http://pubs.wsu.edu/ Northwest Indian College Contact Charlotte Clausing: 360-392-4319 cclausing@nwic.edu or http://www.nwic.edu/ Water Resource Research Institutes Water and Environmental Research Center (Alaska) http://www.uaf.edu/water/ Idaho Water Resources Research Institute http://www.boise.uidaho.edu/ Institute for Water and Watersheds (Oregon) http://water.oregonstate.edu/ State of Washington Water Research Center http://www.swwrc.wsu.edu/ Environmental Protection Agency EPA, Region 10 The Pacific Northwest http://www.epa.gov/r10earth/ Office of Research and Development, Corvallis Laboratory http://www.epa.gov/wed/ For more information contact Jan Seago at 206-553-0038 or seago.jan@epa.gov
	The Project Land Grant Universities, Water Research Institutes and EPA Region 10 have formed a partnership to provide research and education to communities about protecting or restoring the quality of water resources. This partnership is being supported in part by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Our Goal and Approach The goal of this Project is to provide leadership for water resources research, education and outreach to help people, industry and governments to prevent and solve current and emerging water quality and quantity problems. The approach to achieving this goal is for the Partners to develop a coordinated regional water quality effort based on, and strengthening, individual state programs. Our Strengths The Project promotes regional collaboration by acknowledging existing programs and successful efforts; assessing program gaps; identifying potential issues for cross-agency and private sector collaboration, and developing a clearinghouse of expertise and programs. In addition, the Project establishes or enhances partnerships with federal, state and local environmental and water resource management agencies, such as by placing a University Liaison within the offices of EPA Region 10.
	The symposium is hosted by the Pacific Northwest Regional Water Program and the Western Integrated Pest Management Center. On-line registration for this one day water quality/IPM Symposium is now open. Please go to http://ipm.wsu.edu/PBESA/ for meeting, hotel, and registration information. The symposium is being held in conjunction with the Pacific Branch Entomological Society of America; so look for the separate symposium registration listed on the Pacific Branch web site. There is a one-day separate registration fee of $75.00 for the water quality/IPM Symposium, which will be held at the Grove Hotel in downtown Boise, Idaho April 13, 2010. Chopping a green manure crop on the Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho. Green manure crops are used as alternatives to pesticides to manage pests and reduce impacts on ground water quality. Photo by Dee Carlson, NRCS. Used with permission.
	National Water Quality Program Areas The four land grant universities in the Pacific Northwest have aligned our water resource extension and research efforts with eight themes of the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Animal Waste Management Drinking Water and Human Health Environmental Restoration Nutrient and Pesticide Management Pollution Assessment and Prevention Watershed Management Water Conservation and Agricultural Water Management Water Policy and Economics
	This material is based upon work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreement No. 2008-51130-04734.

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