I apologize in advance for the somewhat extended nature of this message and for duplicate message some of you will get.
A group of us, U.S. academics and representatives of non-governmental organizations involved in forest invasives, have established an advocacy group called Tree Resistance Advocacy Group. It is composed of myself, plus Faith Campbell, President,
Center for Invasive Species Prevention; Don Cipollini, Professor, Wright State University; Anna Conrad, Postdoctoral Associate, The Ohio State University; Coralie Farinas, Graduate Student, The Ohio State University; Kamal Gandhi, Professor, University of
Georgia; Fred Hain, Professor Emeritus, North Carolina State University and Director, Forest Restoration Alliance; Dylan Parry, Associate Professor, State University of New York, Syracuse; David Showalter, Postdoctoral Associate, University of Minnesota; and
Caterina Villari, Assistant Professor, University of Georgia.
As part of our activities, we have produced two, one page documents (attached), meant to be used in science advocacy efforts on behalf of all of us who think that host resistance development and deployment should be at the forefront of our battle
against invasive forest pathogens and insects. The two documents can be used in different contexts, depending on the specific user’s goals and they are meant to be complementary.
The two documents differ only in the policy solutions we propose (last paragraph). In 'TRAG one-pager 1.0' we argue for the establishment of a U.S. national task force to determine the best way forward.
In 'TRAG one-pager 2.0’ we are more prescriptive and propose the establishment of Centers for Forest Pest Control and Prevention (CFPCP) within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, akin to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. These are meant to be part of an infrastructure where scientists and managers can work proactively to handle invasives rather than reactively as it is done today, with very little to show for it.
I am asking you to let me know if you would like your name added to the list of signatories on one, the other, or both documents and, if you are members/leaders of an organization, if you would be willing
to have your organization endorse the one pagers.
We realize that many of you are institutionally forbidden from engaging in advocacy efforts (e.g. U.S. federal employees). We also realize that these are U.S.-centric documents and ideas. However, we would be thrilled to have any signatories
from around the world supporting us in our efforts!
Thank you for considering.
Enrico