Green Blue Summit
Clean Water Through Residential IPM

Speaker Biographies and Abstracts

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CHRISTOPHER ARNE is Technical Director for J.C. Ehrlich Co., Inc. in Reading, Pennsylvania. He and his team are responsible for the technical development and ongoing training of both technicians and managers. Dr. Arne also conducts quality assurance audits, develops pest control recommendations, conducts training seminars, and works closely with a number of their larger clients. His doctoral training was in entomology with an emphasis on insect pathology.

Presentation: Practices that Structural Pest Management Companies Implement to Maintain Water Quality

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BRUCE AUGUSTIN is Director of Environmental Agronomy for The Scotts MiracleGro Company. Dr. Augustin joined Scotts in 1998 as Director of Product Development in the Research and Development Division. He develops and coordinates science-based assessments and recommendations for product development, product stewardship, and strategic direction for the entire lawn and garden category within Scotts. Prior to joining Scotts, Dr. Augustin was a turfgrass professor at the University of Florida and conducted research in plant nutrient and water relations. He has also worked for major agrochemical and fertilizer suppliers to the professional and homeowner turf and ornamental industries. He is an expert in the plant and soil sciences and has authored of over 120 popular and scientific articles on turfgrass and landscape management.

Presentation: Homeowner Lawn Care Practices and Potential Environmental Impacts

Abstract: Homeowner Do-It-Yourself (DIY) lawn care practices are similar to the consumption and use behavior patterns found with many other consumer products and services, like automobile oil changes or teeth flossing. There are significant differences between recommended practices and actual participation. Research studies report that only half of the 80 million households with lawns apply lawn fertilizers during any given year. Approximately 75% of these homeowners apply fertilizers themselves (DIY), and while the other 25% of homeowners hire a lawn service company to make fertilizer applications. One or two fertilizer applications per year are the behavior practiced by 93% of DIY homeowners. Less than 6% of DIY homeowners apply three or four fertilizer applications per year. The typical DIY annual fertilizer application rates are 0.8 to 1.8 pounds nitrogen and 0.08 to 0.18 pounds of phosphate per 1000 square feet. These annual application rates are 50 to 70% below universities’ best management practices for home lawns. The DIY home lawn market consumes 1 million tons of fertilizer per year, which is less than 2% of the total annual US fertilizer consumption. Water quality models and assumptions of nutrient loading in watersheds need to be re-examined light of these current homeowner fertilizer data. Are the amounts of nutrients in surface waters from lawn fertilizers, when included with loading from all nutrient sources, significant enough to produce measurable changes in water quality if changes are made to the amount, composition or timing of home lawn fertilizers? DIY homeowners can practice sound environmental stewardship through appropriate lawn care product selection and use.

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GEOFF BROSSEAU is Executive Director of the Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association (BASMAA), a consortium of the eight countywide urban runoff programs in the San Francisco Bay Area, representing over 90 agencies, including 79 cities, and 5 counties. BASMAA was started by local municipalities to facilitate information sharing and cooperation, and to develop products and programs that would assist them in meeting their NPDES permit and Clean Water Act requirements. Mr. Brosseau’s involvement in pesticides started when Bay Area wastewater and stormwater agencies discovered pesticide-related toxicity in their discharges in the mid-1990s. Since that time, Mr. Brosseau has been actively involved in:

• the Urban Pesticide Committee (former Vice-Chair), a stakeholder group identifying and promoting the implementation of effective means of preventing or eliminating negative impacts to surface waters and sediments caused by pesticides used in urban areas of the San Francisco Bay / Delta Area and its tributaries
• the California Stormwater Quality Association (Chair of former Pesticide Work Group and Liaison to USEPA), which has presented stormwater issues to U.S. EPA including review and comment on the re registration of selected organophosphate pesticides
• authoring BASMAA Strategy, which focuses on reducing organophosphate pesticide-related toxicity in San Francisco Bay Area urban creeks
• IPM Partnership (Committee Chair), a statewide (initially Bay Area-wide) collaboration with retail stores to promote less-toxic pest control methods.

Presentation: IPM-Water Quality Success Story, Using Green to Make Blue: The Our Water, Our World Program

Abstract:This session will describe the design, conduct, and success of the IPM Partnership, which is better known as the Our Water, Our World program.

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MARK CARROLL is Associate Professor of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture at the University of Maryland. Dr. Carroll’s research program focuses on examining the transport of chemicals applied to turf. He has authored and co-authored more than 50 scientific, technical, and popular articles on this subject. He teaches junior and senior level courses in turfgrass management and serves as the undergraduate advisor to all four-year Turf and Golf Course Management students at the University of Maryland.

Presentation: The Use and Fate of Lawn Pesticides in the Environment

Abstract: Mature lawns can contain three features that attenuate pesticide movement. These features are the presence of a perennial layer of foliage that fully covers the soil surface, an organically rich layer of living and decaying plant matter located above the soil surface called thatch, and a dense shallow root system that sustains a relatively large pool of microbial substrates near the soil surface. The presence of foliage reduces runoff losses of pesticides by preventing soil particle dislodgement and by acting as a barrier that exposes pesticides to degradation reactions that do not normally occur in soil. Clippings generated shortly after pesticide application however can serve as a potential source of pesticide contamination if not properly managed. Thatch is generally viewed as a surface feature that readily adsorbs pesticides and supports large microbial communities that accelerate pesticide degradation. Organic matter levels in the root zone of residential lawns often exceed that found in the surface soils of mid-Atlantic forests. Similar to thatch, the carbon enriched environment of the turf root zone favors reduced pesticide mobility and accelerated rates of pesticide degradation. The lawn, when viewed as one of many possible landscape covers, has physical, chemical, and biological features that make it less susceptible to pesticide runoff than other types of landscape covers that may be similarly treated with pesticides.

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JOHN CLAUSEN is Professor and Interim Head of the Department of Natural Resources Management and Engineering, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, at the University of Connecticut. He also is Co-Chair of the undergraduate Environmental Science program. Dr. Clausen’s research interests focus on nonpoint source pollution, and include monitoring, modeling, and assessment of best management practices. He also conducts research on wetland systems, most recently in Patagonia. He teaches courses on water quality, wetlands, nonpoint pollution, and modeling. Dr. Clausen is a member of the American Water Resources Association, Soil and Water Conservation Society, and Society of Wetland Scientists.

Presentation: Design of Water Quality Monitoring Studies

Abstract: Increased attention given to nonpoint source water quality problems has resulted in a greater emphasis on water quality monitoring. Although agreement varies as to the value of water quality monitoring, the consensus is that monitoring is relatively expensive; therefore, it is imperative that monitoring be well designed. Dr. Clausen will present 12 steps for developing a monitoring study. The first step, defining the water quality problem, is necessary to assure that monitoring actually matches the problem rather than symptoms. Setting objectives for monitoring clarifies the purposes of the study and keeps it on track. The statistical design is needed as an overall framework to ensure that the samples are being collected from the appropriate locations. The monitoring design must also include the scale of the study (plot, field, or watershed); the type of sample; the variables and locations to sample; and the frequency and duration of sampling. The type of monitoring station and its construction should be defined. The methods for collecting land use and management data need to be described, including how the water quality data and land use data will be linked. Finally, a system for managing the data should be described.

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STUART COHEN is President and Senior Environmental Scientist of Environmental & Turf Services, Inc. in Wheaton, Maryland. Dr. Cohen has been working for 31 years in the areas of the mobility and persistence (fate), risk assessment, risk management, and water quality monitoring of environmental contaminants. His firm specializes in monitoring and computer simulation modeling of turf pesticides and nutrients. One key risk management strategy includes the creation of integrated pest management plans. His doctoral training was in physical organic chemistry, and he is a Certified Ground Water Professional.

Presentation: Impacts of Water Quality Model Assumptions on Urban Lawn Management

Abstract: Computer simulation models can be useful tools for predicting turf pesticide and fertilizer impacts on ground water and surface water quality. However, the environmental processes simulated by the models must be appropriate, as should the input assumptions about turf chemical use. Currently, the EPA assumes that 100% of the modeled index reservoir watershed consists of golf course or home lawn land. This could have implications for the availability of some turf pesticides. The Chesapeake Bay Program’s model has been calibrated for nitrogen losses from urban environments, but the various potential N sources––fertilizers, animal waste, atmospheric deposition, etc.––are not differentiated.

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BRIAN EISENHAUER is Assistant Professor of Sociology and Associate Director of the Center for the Environment at Plymouth State University. Dr. Eisenhauer’s primary area of specialty is natural resource/environmental sociology, a field that studies community in its largest sense by examining the interrelationships between society, culture, and the environment. He has a strong background in social research methods, and his research agenda addresses the interaction of environment and society through investigating rural community change and development, community attachment and grassroots activism, wilderness values and perceptions, the evaluation of environmental education and conservation programs, outdoor recreation issues and management, and public opinion about environmental and natural resource issues. He is currently working on a number of research projects, including a USDA CSREES funded project to improve water quality by reducing the over-application of fertilizers by homeowners for turf care and an interdisciplinary project to develop a watershed management plan for the Newfound Lake watershed in New Hampshire.

Presentation: Positive Environmentalism: Social Science Research and Social Marketing

Abstract: All environmental issues are social issues, and efforts to address them are more likely to be successful if relevant social dynamics are studied and addressed in education and outreach efforts. In this presentation and the discussion that follows key findings from social research projects on concerns about exposures to pesticides, homeowners’ lawn care practices and their attitudes towards water quality issues, and several watershed based projects will be presented to exemplify the contributions of social science to social marketing efforts developed to improve environmental quality. The need to engage in “positive environmentalism” (social marketing that focuses on gains rather than sacrifice) and other important concepts for the successful social marketing of environmental messages will be discussed.

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KEVIN FRANK is an Assistant Professor and Extension Turfgrass Specialist at Michigan State University in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences. Trained in turfgrass physiology and management, Dr. Frank coordinates educational programming for the Michigan Turfgrass Conference and Michigan Turfgrass Field Day. He provides educational programming to professional turf managers through presentations and articles throughout the year. Dr. Frank also conducts numerous site visits to golf courses throughout the state to provide expertise on turf management issues. Dr. Frank’s research interests include nutrient fate issues related to environmental quality and turfgrass response, development of fertilization programs, and alternative golf green construction methods.

Presentation: Risk Management of Lawn Nitrogen Fertilization for Surface and Ground Water Quality

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KARL GUILLARD is a Professor of Agronomy and Teaching Fellow in the Department of Plant Science at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Guillard is the co-coordinator for the Turfgrass Science program at the University of Connecticut and teaches undergraduate courses in turfgrass management, turfgrass physiology and ecology, ecology and control of weeds, and a graduate level course in the design and analysis of agricultural experiments. His research interests include the development and evaluation of best management practices for turf, with emphasis on nutrient management and water quality. His presentation will discuss the current state of turf nutrient management and the need for objective testing methods to guide nitrogen fertilization.

Presentation: By Guess and By Golly! The Need for Objective Testing Methods to Guide Nitrogen Fertilizer Recommendations for Turf.

Abstract:Currently, no soil test for N is routinely used in humid climates to guide N fertilization of turfgrass. Instead, N fertilization for most home lawns is usually based on a pre-determined schedule at set rates, regardless of existing site conditions. This approach does not take into account plant available N added to the soil by sources other than fertilization such as soil organic matter mineralization, return of clippings, and irrigation water, or losses of N by leaching, runoff, or denitrification. Since scheduled N applications at set rates are not adjusted for site-specific conditions, insufficient or excess N might be applied. Too little N may result in poor turf quality and functional performance, and too much N may become subject to loss via leaching or runoff. The goal of turfgrass N fertilization is to apply sufficient N to achieve the quality of turf desired without under- or over-fertilizing. This goal can be reached by development and implementation of objective testing methods to guide N fertilization for turf. Several methods will be presented that show promise as objective guides to site-specific N fertilization.

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JOE HICE is Associate Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations at the University of Florida, where he responsible for marketing, advertising and branding activities, public relations, and employee and internal communications, as well as directing the university's news bureau. Trained in journalism, communications, and business administration, Mr. Hice has had a long career with some of the nation's most respected and well-known recreational product brands, most recently as Chief Marketing Officer of Segway LLC, which manufactures the Segway Human Transporter. He served as Director of Corporate Communications for Harley-Davidson Motor Company, where he was involved in the firm’s Strategic Plan for Sustainable Growth, and as Director of Marketing Communications for the Marine Products Division of Bombardier Inc., an international corporation with annual revenue in excess of $7 billion. At Bombardier Recreational Products, Mr. Hice managed the development of the Sea-Doo Watercraft and Sea-Doo Sport Boat brands and implemented marketing communications programs that helped the company grow from the smallest company in the industry to the industry leader in just five years.

Presentation: Marketing Workshop

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BRIAN HORGAN is Associate Professor and Extension Turfgrass Specialist at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Horgan’s research and outreach programs focus on nutrient fate, water conservation and developing low input turfgrass systems. His workshop will focus on the application of phosphorus fertilizers to turf, which has been debated in Minnesota since the early 1970s and has recently led to a statewide restriction on the application of P fertilizers. Dr. Horgan will provide a brief overview of the law in Minnesota and will explore new data on the effect of fertilizer inputs and grass clipping management on P runoff from home lawns.

Presentation: Management practices that impact phosphorus runoff in urban watersheds (with Martin Petrovic)

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KIRK HURTO is Vice President of Technical Services for TruGreen Landcare. Dr. Hurto serves as the science and technical officer to TruGreen on matters involving agronomic and environmental policies and procedures used by its 219 branch locations across the United States and in Canada to service lawns and landscapes. He is responsible for development of strategic initiatives and practices employed by branches to guide their understanding of chemical use and fate in our environment, and to ensure its employees are trained to effectively manage environmental, safety and health concerns associated with TruGreen’s service offerings to its 2.5 million customers.

Presentation: Environmental Stewardship Practices and Lawn Care

Abstract: Market research suggests out of 100 households about 50 will make a decision to make an application of fertilizer or other lawn product to their landscape. Of the remaining 50 households that actually care for their lawn, approximately 20% use a commercial lawn care provider (LCO). The services provided to consumers by LCOs can improve the quality of lawns and landscapes with minimal impact on our environment when policies and procedures are in effect that guide selection and use of fertilizers and pesticides, their storage and use, and the training required of its employees to responsibly use and apply products to consumer lawns. This paper will discuss three elements of Environmental Stewardship Practices and Lawn Care: 1) Market Share of LCOs, 2) Mitigation of Potential Water Quality Risks through use of Application Best Practices, and 3) Elements of an Environmental Stewardship Program.

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STEVE JACOBS is a Senior Extension Associate in the Department of Entomology at Penn State University.

Presentation: Coalitions Moving Forward

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R. DAVID JONES is a Senior Agronomist for the Office of Pesticide Programs in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he has been performed fate and exposure assessments in support of pesticide registration programs for the past 16 years. Dr. Jones has specialized in analysis of water monitoring data and modeling pesticide movement to and in water resources. Dr. Jones received his PhD in Agronomy from Kansas State University in 1991, specializing in soil chemistry.

Presentation in Plenary Session: Risk Management

Presentation in Turf Session. Assessing Impact of Residential Use Pesticides on Wildlife and Drinking Water.

Abstract: Chemicals used for pest control in the lawn and garden have the potential to impact both terrestrial and aquatic wildlife and also impact water resources that are used for drinking water. Dr. Jones will discuss how the Office of Pesticide Programs assesses this potential and the kinds of data it uses for these assessments, and will provide some examples of how these assessments are used in regulatory decisions, along with some discussion of these decisions can impact homeowners.

JOHN KELLEY is the Executive Director of Planning, Training and Institutional Research at Villanova University where he also teaches on the undergraduate and graduate levels. Specializing in training and program evaluation, Dr. Kelley is recognized as an accomplished training designer and facilitator. Before coming to Villanova, he was Director of Research for the Corporation for Public/Private Ventures, a social policy firm that assists disadvantaged populations. Earlier in his career, Dr. Kelley taught high school, directed a community youth center and was clinical supervisor at a drug & alcohol treatment program.

John is the facilitator for structural pest management session

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MARTIN PETROVIC is Professor of Turfgrass at Cornell University. His current research program centers on soil and environment issues facing turfgrass managers in New York and throughout the world. Dr. Petrovic’s current focus is nutrient and pesticide fate in sub-watersheds as influenced by landscape type, pest management system, soil phosphorus, and site characteristics. This work is showing the importance of developing a dense turf to reduce environmental risks, carefully selecting pesticides to protect water quality, and considering the effect of site factors on water quality. He works with numerous groups and agencies that are interested in protecting the environment, including golf course superintendents on eastern Long Island; the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) and U.S. EPA to develop nitrogen management plans to protect the quality of the Peconic Estuary; turfgrass managers, fertilizer industry, NYS Attorney Generals Office, NYDEC, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, and Cooperative Extension to better understand the role turfgrass has on phosphorus runoff in New York City and other watersheds; and sod growers and Cooperative Extension on Long Island to reduce nitrate leaching while producing a profitable sod crop.

Presentation: Management practices that impact phosphorus runoff in urban watersheds (with Brian Horgan)

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JESSICA PHELAN is Senior Account Manager with FCFSchmidt Public Relations, speaking on behalf of the National Pest Management Association. She will speak on the structural pest management industry report on homeowner attitudes and trends.

Presentation: Homeowner attitudes concerning structural pest management

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FRANK ROSSI is Associate Professor of Turfgrass Science and Extension Turfgrass Specialist at Cornell University. His focus is ecologically and environmentally sound turfgrass management, including development of a scientific basis for resource efficient turfgrass establishment and management programs that preserve water quality, enhance stress tolerance, quantify niche parameters.

Presentation: Benefits of Lawns to the Environment and Society

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CLIFF SCHERER is Associate Professor with the Department of Communication at Cornell University.
Dr. Scherer does original research, creates interventions, and conducts state and federal workshops on topics related to how individuals, families, communities, and organizations deal with health and environmental risks and biotechnology issues. He is particularly influential in the development and application of theory to the improvement of scientific and technical information.

Presentation: Communicating Science to the Public

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JEFF SCHLOSS holds a joint appointment as a Research Scientist in the University of New Hampshire’s Center for Freshwater Biology, and as a Water Resources Specialist with Cooperative Extension. Since 1986, he has been the coordinator of the New Hampshire Lakes Lay Monitoring Program (NH LLMP), a grassroots lake and tributary monitoring program. His background includes research work in biology, water quality, and aquatic ecology with the Smithsonian Institution Radiation Biology Laboratory, U.S. National Park Service, U.S. National Institutes of Health, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Naval Research Laboratory and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Presentation: Ecological Approach to Landscaping at the Water's Edge

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NELSON THURMAN is a Senior Scientist with the Office of Pesticide Programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Presentation: Residential Pesticide Residues in Water

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JAMES F. WILKINSON is the owner of SeaScape Professional Landscape and Tree Service, which provides lawn, tree, and sprinkler services to several thousand residential and commercial properties throughout Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. He is a former assistant professor of turf at Ohio State University, and he has served as Director of Research for ChemLawn Corp, and as Director of Environmental and Regulatory affairs for the Professional Lawn Care Association of America. Dr. Wilkinson has been working with Rhode Island Coastal Resource Management Council and the University of Rhode Island to develop a low-input lawn care program for regulated (coastal) environments. SeaScape has been using this program on a 40-home residential neighborhood for the last three years. Dr. Wilkinson’s workshop presentation will discuss results, problems, and homeowner concerns.

Presentation: Commercial Applicator's Practices Relating to the Water Quality Impacts of Urban Lawn Care