All interested parties are invited to attend: Register now at http://pep.wsu.edu/tpsa07

What's the barometer reading on pesticide stewardship in the United States and the rest of the world? This question will be tackled from multiple perspectives during The Pesticide Stewardship Alliance (TPSA) 7th Annual Working Conference in Reno, Nevada, February 25 to 28, 2007. Join U.S. and international TPSA members in advancing dialogue that promotes stewardship.

Key conference themes include

• Collection and disposal of obsolete pesticides in Europe, Mexico, and the United States. What are the needs and what is the future of these programs?
• Recycling of pesticide containers and other agricultural plastics. Strategies for collecting and marketing the recyclables and disposing of the others.
• Reducing agrochemical movement in air and water. Status and implication of regulations. What's happening to mitigate spray drift?
• Reducing potentially harmful exposure to pesticides through improvements in packaging, transportation, storage, and containment.
• Pesticide poisoning. What's happening in the United States and why?
• New approaches to communicating about stewardship

The plenary session sets the stage by asking "How Is the Rest of the World Handling Collection and Disposal of Obsolete Pesticides?" John Vijgen, founding president of the International HCH and Pesticides Association based in Denmark, answers with an insider's view from a European perspective. Vijgen's presentation will feature the U.S. premier of videos and photos of pesticide cleanup and cleanup needs in Eastern Europe and the European Union.

Full conference program details—as well as registration information—are on the TPSA Web site: http://tpsalliance.org/ (click on "conference"). All conference activities take place at the Silver Legacy Resort in Reno (http://www.silverlegacy.com/).

In brief, the conference begins with an opening reception Sunday evening, February 25, followed by two days filled with sessions, displays, and ample time for networking on Monday and Tuesday. The conference closes with an environmental stewardship tour of the Lake Tahoe-Reno area on Wednesday, February 28. Glenn Miller, from the University of Nevada at Reno, will show/tell about the critical environmental stewardship issues that have led the surrounding communities; the states of Nevada and California; and visitors to collaborate in protecting Lake Tahoe from the substantial development pressures that have led to degradation of water quality.

TPSA is a nonprofit organization that brings together technical experts, researchers, pesticide applicators, regulators, educators, crop protection industry, hazardous waste industry, ag plastic recyclers, the environmental and public health constituency, and others to promote and support improvement to pesticide stewardship in the United States and internationally.

The TPSA Conference is a great opportunity to network and learn across the typical divides among these groups and build bridges based on common interests.

(Michelle Wiesbrook)