Recipients of the 2004 PPQ
Deputy Administrator’s
Safeguarding Award
Three
awards recognized by APHIS/ PPQ Deputy Administrator Ric Dunkle were given in
recognition for significant contributions to furthering the goals and
principles embodied in the Safeguarding review.
In the past, 2 separate projects have been awarded for their
achievements. This year, the quality of the projects were so great, 3 have been
recognized for awards. They are:
The Caribbean Offshore
Risk Mitigation Group
The Miami
Post Interdiction Committee
The Hot Zone Concept Group
The Caribbean Basin Offshore Risk
Mitigation Group
USDA/ APHIS/ PPQ and APHIS IS in the Caribbean
win a national award. On behalf of PPQ
Deputy Administrator Ric Dunkle, the
USDA/ APHIS/ PPQ Deputy Administrator’s Annual Safeguarding Award was
presented by Paul Eggert, Assistant to the APHIS/ PPQ Deputy Administrator,
on March 3, 2005 at the Embassy Suite Hotel in Miami, FL.
Vic Harabin represented ( APHIS/ PPQ
Eastern Region) . Others in attendance
from USDA/ APHIS, Washington
D.C.,
were Ron DeHaven (APHIS
Administrator), Paula Henstridge ( Special Assistant to the Deputy
Administrator), and Bill Wade (Director of APHIS/ PPQ/ PDC) from Frederick, MD.
Many thanks to Julie Aliaga and Gordon Muraoka with APHIS/ PPQ in Miami for arranging the
event.
The Caribbean Basic Offshore Risk
Mitigation Group, led by Florida State Plant Health Director Mike Shannon,
exemplifies the concept of offshore risk mitigation espoused in the
Safeguarding Review. Because of the
proximity and host range, the group recognizes the presence of pests such as
Giant African snail, chili thrips, citrus root weevil, and other plant pests in
different islands of the Caribbean as an economic threat to the United States. Stakeholders are educated abroad about the
risks and mitigation measures that could be taken at origin to prevent spread
of the pests into susceptible Florida
environments and beyond. The group
trained specialists from 15 Caribbean Nations in fruit fly detection, supplying
manuals, forms, operational guidance, and needed supplies and materials, as
well as conducting a feasibility assessment of management options for the fruit
fly, Anastrepha oblique. The group has worked with Dr. Waldemar
Klassen of the University of Florida to assess risks present in the Caribbean and the strategies for managing them. This effort has evolved into a major
initiative of the University and Caribbean
organizations and nations.
The Caribbean Basin
Offshore Risk Mitigation Group Members
Mike Shannon, Florida State
Plant Health Director and group leader
Dr. David Robinson, National
Malacologist Specialist
Carolyn Cohen, International
Service Caribbean Area Director
Paul Hornby, Florida State Operations Support Officer
Terry McGovern, Northern
Florida Area Director
Buddy Carpenter, Florida Fruit Fly
Program Director
Gordon Muraoka, Miami Inspection Station Director
Dr. Charles Brodel, Miami Identifier, National
Coleoptera Specialist
Willie Tang, Miami Identifier
Fernando Lenis, Miami Identifier
Tom Skarlinsky, PPQ Officer
Willie Harris, SITC Regional
Coordinator
The Miami
Post Interdiction Committee
USDA/ APHIS/ PPQ and Department of
Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection (DHS - CBP) in Miami
win a national award. On behalf of PPQ
Deputy Administrator Ric Dunkle, the
USDA/ APHIS/ PPQ Deputy Administrator's Annual Safeguarding Award was
presented by Paul Eggert, Assistant to the APHIS/ PPQ Deputy Administrator,
on March 3, 2005 at the Embassy Suite Hotel in Miami, FL. Assistant Commissioner Jayson Ahern
represented ( DHS/ CBP).
Vic Harabin represented ( APHIS/ PPQ Eastern Region)
. Others in attendance from USDA/
APHIS, Washington
D.C.,
were Ron DeHaven (APHIS
Administrator), Paula Henstridge ( Special Assistant to the Deputy
Administrator), and Bill Wade (Director of APHIS/ PPQ/ PDC) from Frederick, MD.
Many thanks to Julie Aliaga and Gordon Muraoka with APHIS/ PPQ in Miami for arranging the
event.
The Miami Post Interdiction
Committee was established by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Port Director
for Miami Maritime operations, Jose Ramirez and is chaired by CBP Agriculture
Specialist Gerry Russo. The Committee,
which includes employees from CBP and PPQ, promotes and encourages the use of
risk-based decisionmaking with regard to policies affecting all CBP agriculture
inspection activities within the Port
of Miami. The Committee works to categorize
agricultural risk, establish appropriate resource levels to address risk,
obtain enhanced data to improve targeting, provide avenues for risk
communication, identify and interdict high-risk cargo, and provide technical
advice and direction to the Customs Enforcement Team and others in the Port of Miami.
The group has completed three major projects, including the “Most Wanted
Agriculture Pest Poster,” Operation “Bug Off” to target ceramic and marble tile
inspections more effectively, and a study of the effect of temperatures in the
Mediterranean Zone on pests intercepted at the Miami seaport. All of these initiatives were designed to
determine the factors that contribute to the presence of pest risk in imported
commodities so inspectional resources could be effectively used at the most
effective times. This is the first time
the Deputy’s Safeguarding Award will be presented to a group primarily made up
of CBP employees, and I would like to extend special congratulations to them
and express the appreciation of all of PPQ and its stakeholders for the work
they are doing.
The Post Interdiction Committee
Members
Jose Ramirez, CBP Miami
Maritime Port Director and group leader
Jerry Russo, CBP Chief
John Casale, CBP Chief
Robin Schmaltz, CBP
Supervisor
Grethelll Gomez, CBP Data
Analyst
Willie Tang, PPQ Identifier
Julie Aliaga, Florida State Operations Support Officer
Marta Lorenzo, CBP Inspector
Camille Morris, PPQ SITC
Program Manager
Jose Lorenzo, CBP Inspector
Gena Davis, PPQ Officer
Dough Barker, CBP Inspector
Esther Ramirez, CBP
Inspector
The Hot Zone Concept Group
USDA/ APHIS/ PPQ win a national award. Award presented at the Eastern
Regional State
Plant Health Director meeting in Chicago,
May 12, 2005 by
Ric Dunkle, PPQ Deputy Administrator.
Jerry Fowler, Eastern Regional Director in attendance.
When we think about risk, we tend
to look at the risks present in the port-of-entry pathway and we focus domestic
surveillance efforts on those we determine, in conjunction with our State
partners, to be the highest priority.
The Caribbean
Basin initiative helps us
open our thinking outward to offshore sources of risk. Joe Messineo and his group have helped us
connect the remaining dots within the United States through their
development of the Hot Zone Concept, the second recipient of the Deputy
Administrator’s Safeguarding Award. The
Hot Zone Concept draws from a number of recommendations in the Safeguarding
Review and combines them into a risk-based program that crosses the whole
safeguarding continuum. Using the
concept allows PPQ to integrate risk information from various databases and
other sources to target areas that might be susceptible to pest
introductions. This can help us evaluate
domestic program activities and implement sound pest detection strategies. It can also help focus our efforts for rapid
response by identifying all the places risk material might be able to go in the
interior of the Nation. The Hot Zone
Concept has been used effectively in West Virginia
and the Executive Team supports its use throughout the United States.
The Hot Zone Concept
Group Members
Joe
Messineo, State Plant Health Director, West
Virginia, Group Leader
Thomas
Chanelli, Assistant Regional Director, Eastern Region
Victor
Harabin, Assistant Regional Director, Eastern Region
Calvin
Shuler, Senior Regional Program Manager, Eastern Region
John
Stewart, Domestic Senior Program Manager, Eastern Region (now with
International Services)
Willie
Harris, Director, SITC, Eastern Region
Paul
Larkins, Regional Program Manager, Eastern Region
Jason
Watkins, Pest Survey Specialist, West
Virginia
