Panel Discussion on the State of Science for Integrated Weed Management

Description

View the Webinar.

Boulder County will hold a paneled discussion on the state of science for integrated weed management. The event will be held as a webinar on March 12 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. as part of the Integrated Weed Management Plan update process. Questions from the public will be welcomed. Registration is required.

Register

The webinar will be facilitated by Sarah Alexander and Mallory Huggins from the Keystone Keystone Policy Center. Panelists will include Tim Seastedt, Scott Nissen, Dan Tekiela, and Diana Obregon.

Tim Seastedt, PhD, Professor Emeritus, University of Colorado
Tim Seastedt, Professor Emeritus at the University of Colorado in Boulder, is a terrestrial ecosystem ecologist who has worked on grasslands for over 40 years. He has co-edited several books and authored or co-authored over 200 research articles, with his most recent effort producing a text entitled “Sustainable Management of Invasive Species” to be published this year by World Scientific. Among his awards is an acknowledgement for participating in the IPCC effort that received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, but his most valued accolade is the University of Colorado Chase Faculty Community Service Award he received in 2019. That award is given to a faculty member who has contributed exceptional educational, humanitarian, civics or other service to the community. He has also functioned as a weed manager since 2001 on a privately-owned 500 acres of forest and grassland in Boulder County, using a series of experiments and monitoring to guide his management actions.

Scott Nissen, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Colorado State University
Dr. Scott Nissen received his Ph.D. from Montana State University in 1986 and began his academic career at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1989, following a two year post doctoral position at the University of California, Davis. In 1995, he accepted a position at Colorado State University, where he achieved the rank of full professor working in integrated weed management. Dr. Nissen had an extension, research, and teaching appointment and conducted laboratory, greenhouse, and field research on a variety of topics including row crops, rangeland, riparian, and aquatic weed management. Dr. Nissen has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, has been active in several professional societies, and was an associate editor for the journal Weed Science. He was a reviewer for the journals Weed Science, Weed Technology, Society for Range Management, Journal of Aquatic Plant Management, Aquatic Botany, Invasive Plant Science and Management. Dr. Nissen has advised or co-advised more than 40 Ph.D. and M.S. students during his career. His research at CSU was funded from a variety of sources over his 27-year career. These sources included funds from the federal government, state government, counties, commodity groups, private individuals, companies, and foreign countries. Dr. Nissen retired from CSU in December of 2021 and currently holds the rank of Professor Emeritus in the Department of Agricultural Biology.

Dan Tekiela, PhD, USDA Invasive Plant Program Manager & Pesticide Use Coordinator, State, Private, and Tribal Forestry
Dan Tekiela has worked in the private and public sector to better protect natural landscapes from plant invasion through diverse management approaches including the application of pesticides. He began his career in the world of ‘weeds’ as an invasive plant management technician across the Eastern United States restoring invaded forest systems. He then pursed a PhD in invasive plant ecology at Virginia Tech. As faculty and the invasive plant extension specialist at the University of Wyoming, he helped many land managers develop best management practices for invasive plant management projects. His work focused on developing tools to assist in invasive plant management, identifying ways to foster healthy plant communities that are resistant and resilient to invasion, and creating management and prioritization tools to reduce the negative impacts imposed by invasions. As an environmental consultant, he worked on multiple projects focused on the NEPA process and ecological and human health risk assessment associated with landscape management. Currently in his role as FS R2 invasive plant program manager and pesticide coordinator, his program focuses on breaking down jurisdictional boundaries to proper invasive plant management and helping in the education and implementation of large scale invasive plant treatments.

Diana Obregon, PhD, Cornell University
Diana Obregon is currently a postdoctoral associate at the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program at Cornell working on pesticide risk assessment, particularly developing an upgraded version of the EIQ (Environmental Impact Quotient), a globally used pesticide risk rating tool. Diana earned her bachelor of agronomic engineering and her master of entomology at the National University of Colombia studying plant-pollinator interactions with honey bees and stingless bees. She earned her Ph.D. in Entomology working with Dr. Katja Poveda on how landscape composition mediates pesticide exposure and effects on bees and pollination services. Throughout her professional career, Diana has worked in extension and research striving to contribute to the protection of beneficial insects in agricultural environments.