Frequently Asked Questions

WHY DOES THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE USE INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES?

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an approach to pest management that employs physical, mechanical, cultural, biological and educational tactics to keep pest numbers low enough to prevent intolerable damage or annoyance. In an IPM program, the least toxic, effective management options are utilized. This approach to the management of pests fits perfectly with the National Park Service’s mandate to protect all of the resources within the parks it manages. The principles of IPM also fit nicely within the NPS’s goal to decrease the amount of risk, where possible, visitors and employees are exposed to while spending time in a park. IPM looks at the biology of a pest and attempts to manage it at the weakest point in its life cycle.

DO I NEED TO WRITE AN INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT PLAN (IPM) FOR MY PARK?

If you experience problems with the same pests annually, then you should consider writing an IPM Plan! If you have more than one person dealing with pest management problems in your park, then you should write an IPM Plan for your park! If more than one Division in your park is involved in the management of pests, then you should have an IPM Plan! If you utilize contractors to assist you in the management of pest issues, then you need an IPM Plan for the park!!!

An IPM Plan can be as simple as a one page fact sheet to address each pest problem you have in the park, or as complex as a book covering all aspects of pest biology, NPS policy, and guidelines. The key to a successful IPM Plan is that it is easy to use. Every employee in the park should be able to open the Plan and quickly find current recommendations for the management of a pest. This "simple" factor is particularly important to new employees who need quick management advice without totally understanding all of the laws, regulations, and guidelines that support the program. For contractors, a well-written IPM Plan can quickly define the park’s IPM goals and desires. Although the basic information that is put into an IPM plan changes very little from year to year, the plan should still be viewed as a living document that needs to be examined and updated regularly.

WHAT IS THE FORMAT FOR AN IPM PLAN?

The format you use is really up to you. What is important is that certain things are included. First, it is important to define the park’s goals and how pest management fits into them. It is extremely important to define the different roles people will fill in managing pests in the park. Sell/educate/inform every employee on the benefits of managing all pests in the park using IPM practices. Define pest management issues. Here is how it should look:

• Define park IPM goals

• Define responsibilities

• Define pests

• Examine pest biology and life cycle

• Look at natural enemies, diseases, conditions

• Establish monitoring effort to better determine pests

• Decision Making

• Determine acceptable injury levels or thresholds

• Determine action thresholds when management is initiated

• Management options (tactics and treatments)

• Physical/Mechanical management options

• Cultural management options/ Biological options

• Sociological management options/ Chemical options

• Integration of acceptable options

• Monitoring to determine resource condition and pest levels

• (Continue the Assessment/Decision Making/Management/Re-Monitor Loop)

DOES THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HAVE A LIST OF APPROVED PESTICIDES?

There is no list of pesticides approved for use in the Parks of the Northeast Region. Each request and/or application of a pesticide is made only after a specific pest issue has been examined and that particular pesticide is selected as the best management tool available. What is an appropriate use of a pesticide for one specific pest management issue, may not be the best option the next time that pest appears. Every park manager should have some idea of the specific pest management tools available to her or him. However, the actual selection of a tool or management practice for use against a pest can be made only after looking at the specific circumstances present at the potential treatment site. Circumstances such as where the pest is located, thresholds for damage, visitor and employee use and safety, time of the year, weather conditions, and resource value and condition play a major role in determining each pest management strategy.

SHOULD I STOP USING ALL PESTICIDES IN MY PARK?

Used properly, pesticides are valuable tools for the management of some pests. The key to all pest management efforts is to know when to utilize a particular tool and when not to. Like all management tools, pesticides are not always the best available option for handling a particular pest situation. One of the major goals of the National Park Service’s IPM Program is to balance the need to control pests with the need to protect all park visitors and park employees. This goal is accomplished by carefully examining the severity of the pest situation along with the management objectives of the particular park. After determining the needs of the park, management options can be outlined, utilizing the least toxic "effective" options available. Sometimes those options will include the use of pesticides.

ARE ALL EXOTIC PLANT SPECIES INVASIVE?

There are at least 4,500 species of exotic plants and animals that have established free-living populations in the United States since the beginning of European colonization. Most of these plants and animals are things we see and eat everyday. However, about 15% of those exotic species are considered harmful or invasive. Invasive plants, for example, tend to have characteristics that permit them to rapidly invade new areas and out compete native plants for light, water, and nutrients. Some of these characteristics include profuse reproduction by seed and/or vegetative structures; adaptations for the spread of crop seeds; production of toxins that suppress the growth of other plants; roots or rhizomes with large food reserves; and a high photosynthetic rates. All of these characteristics enable the invasive plants to dominate a site and eventually eliminate most, if not all, of the resident native species. All efforts should be made to assist the perpetuation of native species over the introduction of exotic species. It is always important to remember that when resources are short, address invasive species first.