Shake Up At Gulfport

The future of the USDA Forest Service’s termite research facility hangs in the balance as Brad Kard accepts a position at Oklahoma State University.

For Brad Kard it was an agonizing decision. After 14 years of dedicated public service at the USDA Forest Service, he found himself at a career crossroads. He could continue to work on behalf of the American public in his role as principal entomologist at the federally funded termite research facility or uproot his family and move 650 miles away to accept an endowed professorship position at Oklahoma State University (OSU).

While Kard’s decision, no doubt, would have serious implications for his family, most industry observers agreed that the stakes were even higher for the structural pest control industry, which looks to the Gulfport facility for unbiased research on the effectiveness of a wide range of termite control products. After carefully weighing his options, Kard ultimately decided to accept the OSU position, sending shock waves through the pest control industry and generating a heated debate inside the research community about the long-term viability of the Forest Service’s termite research program.

Although industry representatives contacted by PCT magazine offered a wide range of opinions in the wake of the startling announcement, most everyone agreed that how the USDA responds to Kard’s impending departure, which takes effect March 1, will ultimately determine the future of the Forest Service’s termite research efforts.

A DIFFICULT DECISION. What was behind Kard’s decision to exit an organization that he had dedicated more than a decade of his professional life? Kard said he decided to leave the Forest Service because the endowed professorship in Structural and Urban Entomology at OSU was simply a "great opportunity" he couldn’t pass up. "Since it’s an endowed position, it gives me access to funding for all kinds of important research. They’re providing me with the resources I need to hit the ground running. It’s a very exciting opportunity."

In addition to being a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Kard said "philosophical differences" with the current Forest Service leadership also played a role in his decision. "The Forest Service and I no longer have the same vision. Although they say they support the program, they’re de-emphasizing the applied research that is such an integral part of the program. I see diminishing interest in research surrounding the liquid termiticides and termiticide baits and an increase in emphasis on basic research."

While Kard’s supervisor at the Forest Service, Dr. Terry Wagner, would likely disagree with that assessment, Kard says actions speak louder than words. "The Forest Service has voiced a commitment to the program, but I’m not sure about the depth of their commitment," he said. "I don’t see it as being very important to the Forest Service. I see them at least verbally expressing support for the program, but I don’t think anyone on staff has the passion or interest in the program that I did."

Wagner, who has served as project leader at the facility since 1999, said the Forest Service continues to invest in the program, holding stakeholder meetings, hiring additional scientists and conducting ongoing research. "I do feel a commitment to this project and know that it is important," he said. "I understand fully the importance of this work, not just to the registrants but to the American public."

While he admits the loss of Kard’s termite expertise is a blow to the Forest Service, Wagner says it’s not insurmountable. "I don’t want to try to mislead anybody that Brad’s leaving has no impact on us. It does … but I’m totally confident that the testing program is in better shape today than it was two years ago, even with the loss of Brad."

Bob Rosenberg, director of government affairs for the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), agrees. "In the past, senior management in the Forest Service seemed to have a difficult time justifying their commitment to termite work," he said. "As a result of several stakeholder meetings that have occurred in the last year, however, the program’s managers have demonstrated a new-found commitment to supporting and enhancing their termite research and product efficacy testing missions. If Brad had left two years ago it would have been far more devastating than it is now."

INDUSTRY REACTION. While members of the pest control community may debate the Forest Service’s commitment to the program, virtually everyone agrees that the loss of Kard is a serious blow to the Forest Service’s termite research program.

"Brad is going to leave behind some very large shoes to fill," observed Dr. Roger Gold, professor and endowed chair, Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University. "He is possibly the hardest working scientist that I have personally ever known in terms of going out and actually doing the physical labor, as well as the mental gymnastics. It will be difficult to replace him with just a single individual. It will probably take a team of people."

"Brad was the glue that held it together and the engine that made it happen," adds Dr. Michael Potter, professor and urban extension entomologist at the University of Kentucky. "Bottom line, I think it’s going to have a huge impact and people in the pest control industry ought to be very concerned."

Kard’s departure is also raising red flags in the manufacturing community. "From our perspective, we want to make sure that Brad Kard’s replacement is somebody who will continue to carry on the important work that Brad has started and continue to provide the high-quality services supporting termiticides that the industry has come to expect from the USDA Forest Service," said John Wright, director of research and development, Specialty Products Business, FMC Corporation. "He’s been an important advocate for the industry and we would hope that whoever replaces him would share his commitment to the structural pest control market."

"I think it’s an obvious loss for the USDA Forest Service and unlikely, in my opinion, that they’re going to find a suitable replacement to keep that program going," added Reid Sprenkel, general manager, Professional Pest Management Business, Dow AgroSciences. "This may be what we see as the decline of the USDA Forest Service program for reviewing and evaluating termiticides."

"Someone is going to have to step up very quickly or else an opportunity will be lost to continue what’s going on down there," said David Nimocks III, president of Ensystex, a termiticide bait manufacturer based in Fayetteville, N.C. "I’m not close enough to the situation at Gulfport, maybe there are people down there that can step right into his place and have the creative thinking and devotion that he had, but I haven’t seen them."

KEY CHALLENGES. It’s no secret that the Forest Service’s termite research facility has faced some serious challenges in recent years. At a strategic planning meeting with stakeholders in November, the problems of inadequate and fluctuating funding, delays in scheduled field installations, and problems associated with maintaining the overall integrity of the program were addressed by Forest Service officials and a number of high-level representatives of the pest control industry. While not resolving all of the issues, NPMA’s Rosenberg described the meeting as "positive and successful."

Nonetheless, concerns remain. "The Forest Service has not prioritized the termiticide testing program and its role in support of the pest management industry," said Steve Ehart, pest management brand manager, Bayer Garden & Professional Care. "As such, the program’s mission has been compromised because it isn’t aligned with federal funding priorities. Dr. Kard’s departure can only make a bad situation worse. The sad but inevitable consequence will be delays in new product development and new product registrations."

"Without adequate resources and a team of scientists and support personnel with termite expertise, the Forest Service will not be in a position to handle the EPA (termiticide research) commitment in a timely manner," observed Dr. Susan Jones, an urban entomologist at the Ohio State University who worked 14 years at the USDA Forest Service Laboratory in Mississippi. "It takes years and years of working with termites and reading the literature to appreciate the complexities of termite behavior, ecology and control. Unless the Forest Service acts quickly to assemble a team of termite experts in Mississippi, perhaps industry is going to have to do their own testing or contract it out through other federal agencies or universities." That’s exactly what some people are proposing.

"Given these circumstances, in order to maintain the pace of innovation and new product development, the pest management industry has little choice but to replace the Forest Service’s existing program with programs of equal or greater quality led by the manufacturers and academic community," said Dr. Byron Reid, research product manager for Bayer Garden & Professional Care. "Product registrations for termite control will have to be based on efficacy data generated by registrants if we hope to continue the pace of innovative new product introductions."

Not everyone agrees, however, that greater reliance on research data from product registrants is the way to go. "I think the EPA needs to return to an unbiased source of information and not rely on industry research results," said Dr. Roger Gold of Texas A&M University. "Research conducted at company farms is interesting, but that’s not the type of information that really should be looked at by a regulatory agency."

Paul Hardy, technical director at Orkin Pest Control and one of the country’s leading termite experts, says he expects the Forest Service to develop a "streamlined program" to fulfill all of their product registrant commitments. "If Bayer paid you three years ago for five years of testing, then you’ve got to complete that (work) or somebody will be in trouble," he said. "My estimation is they’ll take junior lab folks and run it through the commitments. There’s a proposal for manufacturers to do it, but that would be a zoo, wouldn’t it?"

WHAT’S NEXT? Clearly, the USDA Forest Service Laboratory, which has played a critical role in the development of the pest control industry since the 1930s, is at a crossroads as a result of being too closely associated with a single researcher who had become "the voice" of the organization for many PCOs. For his part, Brad Kard said he’s proud to have been a part of such a valuable institution, "but it’s time to move on." Dr. Terry Wagner, finding himself at the eye of a storm he arguably should have seen coming, doesn’t have that luxury.

Dr. Susan Jones, a former associate of Kard’s at the Forest Service research facility, said she’s "dismayed and disappointed to have witnessed such a decline in the Unit," an opinion expressed by many of those contacted by PCT magazine in recent weeks.

Nonetheless, Bob Rosenberg of the NPMA remains optimistic. "Until about a year ago, I would have said that Brad was the only reason that the program had not been dismantled, but for the first time in a long time the program appears to enjoy the support of senior management and can survive the departure of a key employee, as it did the retirement of Ray Beal and Joe Mauldin (two former project leaders). The continued success of the program is vitally important to PCOs, as it is to manufacturers, EPA and state regulators, and I’m confident that the Forest Service itself now understands how valuable their work is."

Of course, only time will tell if Rosenberg is right. In the meantime, Dr. Terry Wagner can be assured the pest control industry will be watching.

The authors are publisher and editor, respectively, of PCT magazine. They can be reached at: dmoreland@pctonline.com; jdorsch@pctonline.com
To write a letter to the editor regarding this article click here: jdorsch@pctonline.com