NPS
Overview
The Regional Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Coordinator assists parks with management of pests using effective low-risk methods that protect resources, visitors, and staff. Pests include insects, plants, diseases and other organisms that threaten natural and cultural resources or pose a threat to human health. Methods include manual, mechanical, cultural, biological and chemical applications. All pesticides used on national park lands must be approved prior to use. The regional coordinator reviews and approves pesticides, biological control agents and genetically modified organisms proposed by park IPM coordinators. Pesticide usage is reported and tracked on an annual basis.
Contact
Contact Dorothy Borowy, Integrated Pest Management Coordinator for additional information. If you need assistance from Resource Stewardship and Science (RESS), you may submit a Solution for Technical Assistance Requests (STAR) request online (NPS Only).
Projects
- Pesticide Use Review- Assists parks with pesticide use requests and documentation (ongoing)
- Pest Inspection and Identification - Identification of pests, assessment of damage, and recommendations for control. (ongoing)
Links
NCR Integrated Pest Management Topics
Showing results 1-4 of 4
Learn more about biological control (biocontrol) as a pest management strategy that uses the natural enemy of a pest (biocontrol agent) to suppress and control a non-native pest.
- Locations: Antietam National Battlefield, Catoctin Mountain Park, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, George Washington Memorial Parkway, Greenbelt Park, more »
While spotted lanternfly and emerald ash borer are both invasive insect pests, introduced from Asia, that feed on trees (primarily), they have few other similarities. Learn how they differ in host preferences, feeding mode, and life cycle.
- Locations: Anacostia Park, Antietam National Battlefield, Baltimore-Washington Parkway, Catoctin Mountain Park, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, more »
What you need to know about spotted lanternfly: a new, invasive, insect pest approaching the National Parks of the Mid-Atlantic.
- Locations: Anacostia Park, Antietam National Battlefield, Baltimore-Washington Parkway, Catoctin Mountain Park, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, more »
Learn more about oak decline where a host of stressors interact to weaken trees over time, leading to what becomes "death by a thousand cuts."
Last updated: March 19, 2025