University of California, Davis
April 16-20, 2007
WAS THE AGENDA FOR THIS COURSE ADEQUATE AND MET YOUR EXPECTATIONS?
 | As a relative newcomer to pesticides and related matter, this course was exactly what I needed to expand my knowledge in what seems to be some of the most critical/essential areas. State presentations: These presentations were excellent and informative. They provided excellent info on what states do and I think went a long way in establishing a network between states for future communication. |
| PREP is always beneficial and has taken many forms, all effective. |
| Rather than have each PREPster give a presentation, planners could check with participants after agenda items are being set to see if they have pertinent presentations to go along with main topics. Have only those states/tribes present who have appropriate topics. |
| Interesting subjects. PIP talk not long enough for honest discussion. Chemical industry rep talk very boring. State of the states and tribes very interesting. Medical guy very good but his ancillary info should have gone on to slides, so much info lost that could have been used. |
| Yes, all topics were very pertinent to our work and will assist me in improving my job performance. I have a much better understanding of many of the presented issues now, with more than one perspective. |
| Yes. Would like more technical background. Tox & eco risk assessment methods. Maybe that’s another course. |
| The state presentations were the best! |
| The course was very good and had a lot of good information. Some of the presentations were a bit "technical" but still had good information. I will be able to use a lot of the information. The attention to the "invasive species" by the participants was interesting and I will go back to my area to see if there’s a problem I’m not aware of. |
| Yes, since this was my first PREP, just about anything would have been good. Could have used a worker safety talk. |
| Yes, (see below) I’m very impressed with the overall course and the effort. The facility is excellent and provided meals were great. My only criticism is the breakfast at the Hallmark Inn. How about some bacon and eggs? The hospitality at the class site more than made up, though. |
| I had a good time, thank you. |
| Most topics on the agenda will be helpful to my in my job. |
| Yes, the lunches were excellent! |
| Yes, great course-thank you! |
| Great agenda, field trip valuable. Class time is important but getting "out and about" was nice. A good line up of professionals. Some speakers were not dynamic enough-if it is a dry subject the speaker needs to spruce it up! |
| One of the better training classes I have been to. Agenda was good; good time allotment. |
| Yes, I don’t think I have ever been to a bad PREP. Great job John and Suzanne! |
| Yes. |
| The course and the agenda did meet my expectations. It was more than adequate. 5 days is a long week. Any debate on going longer each day and doing a Monday-Thursday class? |
| Yes, I felt some topics could have been afforded more time and one topic I would like to see offered during the Combo is SLA-EPA regional office relationships and problems. |
| Possibly too heavy in the invasive species area. Good tribal information provided a good perspective. |
| I thought there would be more topics…it seemed to be mainly enforcement issues. More registration and water quality information would have been good, but all the information presented was interesting. |
| The agenda was more than adequate and exceeded my expectations. The diversity of the attendees makes planning an agenda extremely difficult. |
| Essentially, all the topics presented directly apply to my job and further my understanding. |
| Yes, agenda of this course is adequate and very well met my expectations. |
| Keep the state/tribal presentations but include the EPA regional folks sitting around the table to provide an additional point of view. |
| Yes, as always. It’s amazing how similar states/tribes are, both on our job and conditions in our states/tribes. |
| The agenda covered a wide array of topics in very good depth. The state presentations were excellent and very informative. Having a presenter like Dave related to "new" topics-urban pesticides and WQ impacts was very good. The ethics session was also excellent. Health effects session (Oregon State) was excellent and should be included in the future. |
| Yes, the variety of topics and scope of the topics were very informative and interesting. |
WHAT COULD PREP PLANNERS HAVE DONE TO MAKE THIS COURSE MORE USEFUL TO YOU?
| I don’t feel that anything can be done to improve this one course. It had a lot of good information from the presentations, and will be very useful in my position. This was a very good course and I would recommend it to several of my colleagues if it comes up again. |
| For me as a novice state regulator, I would have benefited more from a bit more info about the state/federal relationship and EPA organization. |
| The course of things to talk about should be less specific. This would allow for less topics being used over and over. |
| State and tribal presentations are informative, but too much overlap; perhaps offer them more topics from which to choose so they aren’t speaking on same subject matter. |
| I realize that this is not solely a C&T course-so not all relevant to my job directly, but I know it is important to have a broad understanding of the topics that fall under pesticide regs. |
| Ray McAllister is very knowledgeable, however he is so monotone is it hard to follow him. Need someone with more enthusiasm for speaking. |
| I would have liked to seen information on temperature inversions-how each states handles them and if other states have regulations on them. |
| A list of registered PIPs in the U.S. and companies. |
| Make the topics a bit more in depth. |
| The planners did a great job. Keep focusing on issues/hot topics within EPA/states/tribes! |
| Based on my comment above, the only suggestion would be to extend the course to additional day time covering more topics of importance in the field. When my knowledge is expanded in the future, I might feel that I am in a position to suggest tailoring the course more to my specific needs. (On the other hand, 1 week is probably just the right amount of time to be away from the office, home, etc.) |
| I much prefer the smaller rooms at Alumni Center. We were too spread out for what turned out to be a very compatible group-not surprising! The temperature level was perfect. The acoustics are much better in a smaller room with lower ceilings. The microphones were greatly helpful, but some folks will not speak up for the benefit of others. I would have preferred a different arrangement for tables; classroom style. |
| Perhaps floating a draft (with former call students) with PREPsters of the agenda may help to fine tune the program (assumes you would get a good response and you are willing to add this step to the planning process?) |
| Would be nice to have more training on compliance/enforcement activities, case preparation and evidence collection. Break out groups and sessions are good (a couple) to break up the monotony of lectures. |
| If possible and resources permit, being able to go to other sites throughout the week would help break up "scenery" a little; field trip helped with this, "hands-on" learning. |
| More actual comparisons between what states and tribes do that work well, inspection forms, categories, certification, penalty matrix, sharing of problems faced. |
| The course seemed very focused on enforcement-it would have been nice to have some more information (especially on the performance measures section) about the other sections of FIFRA work that deal with the measures. |
| A few structural pest control issues would have been useful for me and a few other PREPsters. In depth analysis of Section 18 and 24c along with examples of requests and them being granted. |
| Tolerance establishment, crop groups, determining over tolerance residue/violations. I’m not sure how many states run analyses. |
| Can’t think of a thing. |
| Good organization and facilities. Good proximity to restaurants. I know there’s not enough time but I would have liked more time with Miles, I was very touched. |
| State case-specific examples would be excellent; tangible examples-BC pest control did this-this is how state/tribe addressed/handled the case. Stress quality presentations-make state/tribe reps aware that their states/tribes will likely come back, so do best to prepare now. I know I need to! |
| Suggest that we include an industry representative from an organization that has done very good work to lessen environmental impact, perhaps someone assoc with SAT. Council the HQs folk to develop obey messages and shorten their presentations. If additional material really is needed, then use multiple speakers. |
| There could have been more discussions on pesticide applications but the topics were still very important. |
IF THIS COURSE WAS TO BE HELD AGAIN IN THE FUTURE, CAN YOU SUGGEST FACULTY WHO COULD SUBSTANTIALLY IMPROVE THE AGENDA?
| Invite SFIREG leaders to present info on major issues. How about adding a presentation on pesticide labs? |
| A very good human health/worker safety speaker - Dr. Marion Moses. |
| Perhaps include AAPSE and AAPCO chairs/reps to provide quick summary of "hot" topics. It’d be a nice opportunity for states and tribes unfamiliar with these entities to ask questions and obtain a better understanding of these orgs. Keep Karen Biestman and Dave Stone on the agendas. Their topics were extremely informative and both were excellent presenters. |
| None yet. I will contact you if I come up with one. |
| I thought the vast majority of these speakers were very appropriate in their knowledge and presentation skills. Overall the speakers were exceptional. |
| Dr. Dennis Gardisser - he is an agricultural engineer - 1 of the 2 in the U.S. that sets up planes and ground rigs for correct droplet sizes-does excellent drift training. Cal Shumway - conducts the only training in the U.S. in drift symptoms, Reg 6 EPA knows him and he has training modules. |
| Mike Mendolson with EPA and PIPs in DC. |
| Andrew Landers from Cornell-works on nozzle tech. for drift control and effectiveness of pesticide applications. |
| Insecticides and human health, predator and wildlife health in general was great. |
| With few, if any exceptions, I thought the quality of the faculty was top notch, excellent, and professional. The agenda seemed full and balanced. |
| Marion Moses from PET in California for health effects. She’s excellent. Kelly Moran is awesome. Include her, she’s timely knowledgeable, and a dynamic speaker. |
| Ray from Crop Life was a great addition so how about RISE, specific chemical manufacturers, Farm Bureau, NASDA, AAPSE, etc. as most of this class do not have the opportunity to interfere with these groups. |
| Perhaps ask some Ag commissioners to come talk and "listen" to what other Ag depts. Deal with and do so they understanding what their own do. |
| I think it would be interesting to expand the human impacts to discuss chronic effects-a potential source would be Dr. Kai Telethon He is the toxicologist at the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and has a lot of experience in agricultural issues. |
| Polo Moreno-DPR-endangered species monitoring and allowing best info to pesticide user to protect species in general (not a special plan for each critter) and allow the most use of pesticides with the least impact. Polo is a great speaker. Top invasive pest possibly glassy wing sharp shooter. |
| Reevaluate industry presenters (Ray). On invasive species suggest Robin Powell, formerly of the Pyramid Lake Paiute, now with Audubon in Nevada. She formed the Tribal Invasive species Council. Lives in Sparks, NV. |
| A presentation on field issues; conditions, safety, etc. NJ Dept. of Ag-beneficial insect lab researchers (website has contact info) Member from New Jersey-water-NJ Pollutant discharge elimination system (NJMES.) |
| Don’t have suggestions on this topic. |
ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS?
| Very valuable for my career and personal development. Networking with other states and learning about them very valuable. Next time maybe I won’t have to go last! |
| Speakers were very well prepared and informative however, it seemed like 3 or 4 were very monotone and unexpressive, individually would be ok but not all in one course and on same day in some cases. Suzanne did an excellent job in organizing-keeping things moving, as well as Melissa and John. The class setting was a bit too formal and dark. Might have been nice to mix up the seating every day to encourage communication between states. Food was great! Definitely continue with state presentations, gleaned lots of helpful info. May be good to hear from the EPA attendees-maybe brief overviews of their job duties and roles or how they function with the states. Presentation on federal case investigations/settlements would be good, especially on some started/referred from the states. Training on pesticide classifications: pyrethroids vs. organophosphates, etc. |
| The Buhler facility is better in that people sit closer together and that encourages discussion. Also, it’s closer to the hotel, encouraging walking. |
| I’m glad to see that "PREP" recognized the tribal and state relationship and how to improve them. Also talking with other participants, they relayed that they would like to have a better tribal/state relationship. I feel that this message needs to go out to the regions to assist states and tribes and also make sure that their relationships are good. |
| State/tribe presentations were really great. You should make the regions give presentations-not sure what on, but they should be fully participants. |
| I am particularly pleased with the state/tribal presentations and networking. It might be difficult, but if folks who have a redundant presentation could be told in advance it might give them an opportunity to pick a different topic. |
| Need more time around town - Davis is nice, but small. Would like to be able to get to other places. This is my first trip to California and all I have seen is the airport and my hotel room. |
| I’ve been to many classes, and PREP is the most organized and well thought out class with respect to the needs of the students and classroom topics. It seems that lectures are more practical toward the end of the course which makes it easier to pay attention after sitting in a classroom for a week. The field trip on Wednesday provided a nice break from the classroom. I had difficulty in choosing a topic for my presentation and did not feel that I was an "authority" in my topic. I recommend more flexibility in presentation selection. |
| The state/tribal presenters did an outstanding job. I really got a lot out of the different and varied presentations. |
| I don’t particularly like the idea of industry presenting without having someone provide an opposite position. It would have been nice to hear what EPA regions are doing. |
| As much as I hate having to do the work to put together a state presentation, the presentations are extremely valuable and useful to me. I learn a lot from these presentations. The state presentations are valuable in bringing what really goes onto us. We don’t always get to experience the wide variety of issues and problems that encompass all areas of pesticides and this helps. Thank you John Ward and Crew for all of your work!!! It means a great deal to us! |
| Karen Biestman was an excellent speaker, would have liked for her to have more time. Miles O’Brien Riley-excellent would like to hear him again!!! |
| We need to have an invasive species, noxious weeds PREP and a PREP that discusses Indian relations and regulations between U.S. EPA, states, and reservations. |
| This was a good course. I thought the human health issues were very good. I would also like more FIFRA training. All in all, it was a good course. |
| NY has created an invasive species task force. From this came local task force groups throughout the state. We have local (other than the ones created by the state) that are active to local issues. I am involved in NYS Region 7 with the Water Chestnut task force. There are big concerns for controlling several different species, aquatic and terrestrial, that several include pesticides. Some pesticides have been used under a 2ee. Finding labeled products can be a real concern. |
| The course was great and informative. The state of the state addresses were excellent and should keep it as part of the program. The crop life person tried but I liked him the least. California is a beautiful state but over regulated. |
| The course will go a long way in fulfilling my educational needs with respect to pesticides and related matters. I look forward to participating in future courses. I was also most impressed with how the course was organized and run-in all aspects, from beginning to end. Thanks for everything! Great lunches! |
| And of course, Fr. Miles is not to be missed. He is phenomenal. |
| More focus on enforcement issues from OECA and softer control strategies. (e.g., IPM, Nonlethal WL controls, etc.) (Jack was great from APHIS-WS) Yes, keep the state /tribe presentations on subject matter related to the agenda. Thank you so very much!!! |
| Great conference, terrifically organized (Suzanne, you’ve got it down) nice variety on lunches. |
| More of a selection at breakfast, same old stuff everyday, more TV channels, for those of us who don’t drink a lot, or evening get together or meetings. Many of the speakers had monotone voices with no emotion, hard to listen to. Had fun, learned quite a few things, (ready to go home) Begin discussion on recycling containers in lieu of new container/containment rules. Great food menu for week. |
| Planning an agenda in the future could involve days with FIFRA exclusive. Next, a day on SPC, a day on fish and game issues, etc. |
| Need to be able to turn up the speaker’s volume without the feedback; found the chairs to be uncomfortable after sitting for a few hours…some presentations too long. Possibly go to multi segment 55 to 60 min presentations. Possible speaker: Dr. Allan Felsot, toxicologist-Washington State University, tri cities campus-regularly speaks at trainings in WA State, very smart, very entertaining. |
| A state by state comparison of outreach efforts to the regulated community-what works, what doesn’t. How does EPA organize itself, or with other states, to conduct enforcement action and investigations. Examples of investigations and outcomes. Composition of pesticides, basic pesticide chemistry. While there are many differences between states/tribes I was amazed how similar they are. A topic idea: ask two or more guest states or tribes to present, summarize or describe in PowerPoint, how they have enforced a specific citation, specific to their state (i.e. drift, license violations, unlicensed persons, IPM, misuse, WPS, etc). Goal: How different states/tribes cite and interpret their rules and regulations, that are similar to other states/tribes (i.e. Indian vs. Illinois drift/misuse citations and enforcement). Investigation-> date obtained->interpret->action taken. Discussion on cancelled pesticides, registration and different types of cancellation; steps industry, regulators, users must pay attention to. Experiences of other states with medical personnel when diagnosing pesticides exposures after incidents at hospitals or dr. offices. How familiar with pest exposures are local hospitals, good, bad case scenarios. |
| My sincere compliments to Suzanne and Melissa for an extraordinary level of logistical support. Compliments also to John Ward for his efforts to design, organize, and conduct the course. Having Miles O’Brien Riley on the last day was rejuvenating and excellent. |