October 26, 1999
The IPMPA is working on a grant (EPA Region 10, October 1999 - Sept.
2000) to format and upload a series of pamphlets that discusses Integrated
Vegetation Management for noxious weeds, including Canada thistle, gorse,
knapweeds, leafy spurge, purple loosestrife, purple starthistle, Scotch
broom, smooth cordgrass, tansy ragwort, and yellow starthistle.
October 1, 1998 - September 30, 1999
In fulfillment of a Region 10 EPA grant, a series of topics with
photos, illustrations, and text that discusses IPM-based
design and construction practices was developed and uploaded.
October 1, 1998
The conferencing system for our Forums is now online. The
Open Forum is functional and initial content has been provided.
August 28, 1998
A description of the insectary project
is now available.
The forums are on their way! Our Internet service provider has made a firm commitment to purchasing and implementing the software required for providing web-based conferencing software. We should have our forums in place by the end of October.
The home page has been updated and given a slightly new look.
The search page content is essentially the
same but it has a new look.
The links page was updated and expanded considerably
in May and another update is planned for the Fall.
June 22, 1998
We're still forging ahead on getting the web-based Forums implemented
and have made definite progress with our Internet service provider in selecting
and purchasing the software. They've chosen software called Caucus as the
product that works best with their system and that has the best track record.
Although they've not yet made a definite commitment to go through with
it, some of their key people are supporting the idea and pushing to have
it purchased, installed and ready for people to begin developing forums
by the first of September. Wish us luck! If you think this is a good
idea, please send us email stating such
to further the case for them to put forth the effort and money necessary
to make it happen.
The search page was down for awhile due to a web server move by our ISP, but is now back up and running. The content of our search page is essentially the same but it has a new look. Please let us know if you experience any problems using it (or anything else, for that matter).
April 10, 1998
At long last the links page has been updated
and expanded considerably. It's a never-ending task due to the rapidly
changing nature of the Internet, but we'll keep at it and hope you find
it useful. We believe it goes a long way in representing IPM and biocontrol
related information currently available on the Internet.
We've made some behind-the-scenes progress on getting the Open Forums
up and running in that we found a software program called WebBoard that
has a great interface and seems very solid. But there's a hitch - the only
way we can use it is to get our Internet service provider to buy it and
host it because it requires a dedicated full time Internet connection on
the computer running it. But rest assured we're working on it and hope
to have something up and running sooner rather than later, although it
seems later is already here - "better later than never"?!
January 8, 1998
We've added a search page. It's currently
functional but still needs refinement. We hope this will help you find
the information you're looking for, especially as IPM Access continues
to grow.
We've also been working on updating the links page (with an initial focus on biocontrol). As part of this, we're implementing a better way of managing our own bookmarks in order to make it more efficient and effective to monitor when sites change, move, or disappear and in finding new ones.
As for information within IPM Access, we're currently writing a description of the insectary project and updating our prescriptions for various pest problems. For the future, we have quite a lot of our own original material to add, primarily regarding IPM policy and program development for public agencies, schools, and roadside vegetation management (IVM). Unfortunately, this material is not in a format that can be easily transferred to the website, so we have a few technological hurdles to overcome (in addition to finding the time to devote to it!) before it can be loaded into IPM Access.
November 11, 1997
Good news! IPM Access is out of hibernation, thanks to support from
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The IPMPA recently received a
grant for adding a biological control component to IPM Access and initiating
the development of a small insectary for rearing biocontrols. We extend
our sincere appreciation to the Region 10 EPA office for their ongoing
support. Follow this link for further information.
Yes, we're still alive and remain committed to our goal in maintaining and further developing IPM Access as a practical source of information and networking on the Internet. We were forced to delay development of our website due to lack of funding, but have kept it up and running while working behind the scenes, seeking additional funding and maintaining IPM Access through volunteer labor and in-kind services.
Our vision for IPM Access is that its primary purpose is to serve as a clearinghouse, pointing you to people, organizations, literature, and other websites, saving you much of the effort in locating these resources; as well as a dynamic and up-to-date source in itself for IPM-related information, news and networking.
Developing and maintaining a website such as IPM Access involves a great deal of time and effort. The current EPA grant only covers our efforts in the biocontrol projects and we need additional funding for further development and administration of the website in general, and in keeping the information and links current. Please stay tuned and be on the lookout for new additions and developments.
Our long-term goal is for IPM Access to be funded through three primary sources: 1.) IPMPA memberships and donations, 2.) grants from governmental agencies and private foundations; and 3.) tasteful, non-intrusive advertising of IPM-related products and services, which you may well be interested in knowing about anyway. Until we reach enough of a critical mass of users and development of the website to interest advertisers, we must rely on grants and you, the people that use IPM Access, for funding. We need people who think this is a worthy cause to sign up for memberships and/or make donations toward the operation and development of IPM Access. The IPMPA is a non-profit organization and is reliant upon the support of people and organizations interested in environmentally sound approaches to resource management. We are committed to making IPM Access one of the most useful and comprehensive IPM information sites on the Web and hopeful that we'll be able to realize that goal. To do so we need your help!
In addition to the biocontrol projects, we have further enhancements planned for IPM Access that should prove to be very helpful for our users. These include developing a web-based messaging system for the Open Forums, implementing an internal search engine, and adding more information files.
We invite your participation and feedback and encourage you to share your materials and ideas and to help support the IPMPA in advancing IPM technologies by providing access to helpful and educational information.
October 15, 1996
The diagram of IPM Access is now a clickable
bitmap! We hope you find it helpful and that it makes the website more
understandable and easier to use. Let us know what you think.
September 11, 1996
The diagram of IPM Access has been completed
and uploaded. The next step is to make it clickable so it can be used as
a navigational tool as well. We anticipate having this new feature available
soon.
Thank you for your patience, support, and feedback!
June 28, 1996
A model IPM policy for public land resource
management settings is now online. A document outlining
the framework and rationale for the contents of the model policy is
also included. These are both located at Main Menu > IPM Files Menu > Policy
Development.
May 17, 1996
The Resources and Links
to Other Sites pages have been updated. Warning: Although the
Resources page has links to both internal pages and other sites (so far
only one - IPM books and other publications), most of these links will
take you away from IPM Access. So, make sure to bookmark us in case you
decide to take a journey, and don't forget to check out the contents of
IPM Access itself! Even more links to other Internet sites are on the way
soon.
May 8, 1996
Links to the drawings accompanying the file on landscape design for
low maintenance and IPM have now been included. You should find they supplement
the text quite well. The file is located at Main Menu > IPM Files Menu
> Treatment Options > Landscape Design for IPM and Low Maintenance. To
go there now, follow this link
April 5, 1996
Brief descriptions have been added to our links to other websites in
order for you to better determine those you would like to look at. Also,
all links have been recently checked to determine which sites are still
up; a few were no longer available and some had changed their URL. Some
other links have been added and more are to come soon. We are finding that
the world of IPM in cyberspace is growing rapidly. If you have not seen
our page of links to other sites, the path is Home Page > Main Menu > Resources
Menu > scroll down to the end of the page. If you want to get there directly
from here, follow this link.
March 22, 1996
This page is new! As indicated on the home page, IPM Access is still
under initial development and we have many exciting plans in the works
for future improvements, enhancements, and features. The purpose of this
page is to serve as a place for us to inform our users of the latest developments
to IPM Access. We recommend you check this page frequently so you're sure
not to miss seeing something you may find interesting and useful.
In addition to the ongoing efforts toward adding more IPM information files as well as getting pages uploaded for our News and Resources sections, we also plan on implementing a script for our Open Forums, which is a messaging system designed for the World Wide Web interface very similar to the look and function of Internet newsgroups and BBS message areas. It allows for "threading" by subject and will give the IPM Access webmasters more flexibility in retaining messages for the length of time warranted rather than the automatic expiration time common to newsgroups, meaning we'll be able to leave especially useful messages up for an indefinite period of time while other less useful postings can be removed as deemed appropriate and archived. We think it will be a better vehicle for our Open Forums all the way around, due to the fact that it was developed specifically for use at websites; therefore retaining a common interface without the need to "jump" back and forth from our website to our newsgoups. This new feature is expected to be online within the next few months.
We've finally got an initial listing of new IPM-related products, equipment, publications and services uploaded. This information is gleaned from a wide variety of sources, including trade publications, conferences, and product literature. We're starting with the most recent information we have (from the beginning of 1996 onward), will be keeping the page updated as new information arrives, and then we'll begin going back in our files to include the last few years of still newsworthy items. We hope you'll see this aspect of IPM Access as a valuable tool to help you keep abreast of new developments in the quickly growing and changing field of IPM without the need to try and find the time in your busy schedules to comb through all those resources.
All materials copyright IPMPA unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.
- your feedback and suggestions are appreciated!
E-Mail: ipmpa@efn.org
URL: http://www.efn.org/~ipmpa
Voice: (541) 343-6969 [office] or (541) 345-2272 [message]