The USDA Forest Service is organizing a National Forum on Biological Control in partnership with NAISMA and the National Association of State Foresters. This will be held March 11 – 14, 2024 in Annapolis, MD at the Graduate Hotel. The meeting will focus on both weed and arthropod biocontrol and will be a venue for all biocontrol practitioners, researchers, and policy makers to come together to address the shared challenges (Ex., communication, capacity, changing landscapes) and opportunities that exist in this area. The meeting themes are centered around biocontrol research, management, and impacts in natural areas.

Meet & Greet Cocktail hour will occur on Monday, March 11. The main conference program starts Tuesday, March 12 and concludes at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 14.

Registration Rates

Early Bird Registration (through January 15, 2024)  
Professional Full Conference –  $375
NAISMA members $350
Student Full Conference –  $225

Late Registration (starts January 31, 2024)

Professional Full Conference – $450
NAISMA members $425
Student Full – $275

Travel

Airports: 
Baltimore (BWI) – 45 min drive to hotel
Washington (DCA) – 45 min drive to hotel

Transportation Options
Uber
SAAB Transportation: 443-995-9728
Roberts Transportation: 240-393-7656
Blanchard Limousines: 410-224-7222: https://blanchardlimo.com/
Towne Transport: 410-266-3392

Member rate is applied during check-out. Join today to enjoy this discount and many other member benefits.

Dr. Mark Hoddle, University of California Riverside
Stepping up to the Challenge: Proactive Biological Control of Invasive Pests (abstract)

Mark Hoddle is an Extension Specialist in Biological Control, Department of Entomology, University of California Riverside. Hoddle received his B.Sc. (1989), M.Sc. (1991), and D.Sc. (2018) from the University of Auckland, New Zealand and his Ph.D. (1997) from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Currently, Hoddle’s lab is working on the proactive biological control of spotted lantern fly and development of proactive IPM programs for avocado seed feeding weevils prior to the anticipated incursion of these pests into California. Other current projects on invasive insect pests include work on gold spotted oak borer, South American palm weevil, cotton seed bug, Asian citrus psyllid, and Argentine ant. Hoddle is the director of UCR’s Center for Invasive Species Research.

Stas Burgiel, Executive Director of the National Invasive Species Council
Advancing a Biocontrol National Agenda

Stanley W. Burgiel (“Stas”) serves as the Executive Director of the National Invasive Species Council (NISC), where he facilitates high-level policy dialogue across federal departments and White House offices on invasive species. He is responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of NISC work plan activities in areas such as wildland fire, climate change, and early detection and rapid response. Stas has worked and consulted for a range of nongovernmental, governmental, and intergovernmental organizations, including the Global Invasive Species Programme, the Nature Conservancy, the UNEP/World Conservation Monitoring Centre, and the International Institute for Sustainable Development. He received his Ph.D. in international service from the American University and a B.A. in political science from Swarthmore College.

Dean Brookes, Australia Biological Control Laboratory (ABCL)
Perspectives, opportunities, and challenges for native range research (abstract)

Dean Brookes’ research background is in ecological genetics and insect-plant interactions in agriculture and biological control. For two years Dean has been working for the Australia Biological Control Laboratory (ABCL), a USDA-ARS overseas laboratory that is partnered with the Australian federal Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). Dean is currently team leader within ABCL, overseeing the team’s research projects, conducting surveys for potential agents throughout Asia and Australia, and building molecular capacity within the team. Dean’s current research focus is the broader integration of molecular techniques into biological control to fast-track agent discovery and evaluation, and to better understand the host associations of potential biological control agents across the native and introduced distributions of invasive weeds.