Joy Landis is providing the blog updates while traveling with the IPM group. She is communications Manager and Assistant IPM Coordinator with the Integrated Pest Management Program at Michigan State University.

May 18, 2009: MSU scientists head to 4th annual meeting in Central Asia
The Central Asia IPM Project formally began in 2004. Collaborative projects take time to setup: securing funding, building multi-country relationships, performing the work, and always lots of reporting. The members of the project met in Uzbekistan in 2005, Kyrgyzstan in 2006, Tajikistan in 2007 and now back to Kyrgyzstan in 2009. The project employs a post-doc (local citizens) in each of these countries. The images in the early blog entries are from these visits.

The blog is being initiated now to share news from the travels to take place May 26-June 6, 2009. This time, along with a Central Asian IPM Forum, there will be a Pest Diagnostic Workshop in Bishkek, led by colleagues from the Ohio State University and Montana State University.

• Iowa Entering STS Program
• You can shoot invasive Eurasian collared doves all you want – AZ Central.com (blog)
• Mystery Sea Creature Invading Indian River Lagoon, Threatens Oysters – University of Central Florida