This year's NORTHEAST FOREST PATHOLOGY WORKSHOP will be help in conjunction with the IUFRO Alien Invasive Species and International Trade, May 27-28, 2008, at the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) in Shepherdstown, WV. In addition to attending IUFRO sessions on Tuesday, we will meet as a group Tuesday evening to share station reports. Wednesday is the field trip which Kurt Gottschalk is arranging. The field trip on the 28th will leave NCTC at 7 am and go to the Baltimore, MD area. We will stop at an urban forest/park area in Baltimore where we will see invasive plant, insect, and disease problems within the urban setting. From there we will proceed to the Port of Baltimore, the 14th largest port in the US. We will tour the port operations and hear from the people who work there inspecting cargo and preventing invasive species from entering the US. We will have a box lunch at a scenic recreation spot just outside of Baltimore. After lunch, we will go to Catoctin Mountain Park, a National Park located north of Frederick, MD. At the park, we will stop at the visitor's center and then head to the woods to see how the forests of the park have been impacted by invasive species including chestnut blight, gypsy moth, dogwood anthracnose, hemlock woolly adelgid, and invasive plants. From the park it will be a short bus ride back to the NCTC for dinner. If you have already registered with Kerry Britton for the IUFRO meeting, I don't need any response from you. If you prefer just to attend just Tuesday and Wednesday, then YOU NEED TO SEND ME AN EMAIL WITH THE FOLLOWING BY APRIL 22 (extended deadline). Name(s) (include a name for each person needing to register): Lodging: NCTC or elsewhere Nights for lodging at the NCTC: May 27, 28; other? After I receive this information, I'll notify you on how to pay the registration costs and to make the NCTC reservations. Registration cost for the 2-day workshop will be $50, and each night's lodging at the NCTC is $110 which includes all meals. Let me know if you have questions. Again, notify me by April 22 if you want to attend. -- Dr. William H. Livingston Associate Professor of Forest Resources School of Forest Resources University of Maine 5755 Nutting Hall, rm 116 Orono, ME 04469-5755 USA ph: 207-581-2990 fx: 207-581-4257 Email: WilliamL(a)maine.edu Web: http://www.forest.umaine.edu/