Vol. 2, No. 10, October 2006

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 Contents

Attend The 2009 SART Conference!


2007: Tim Manning (l) introduces Agriculture & Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson

"I'm excited about the 2009 Conference," says Tim Manning, USDA/FSA, "All disasters happen at the local level, in someone's back yard.

"We are a huge and diverse state with billions of dollars of plant and animal agricultural interests, millions of companion animals that rely on us, and millions of people who need us to help safe-guard their food, their employment and the well-being of their family and friends.

"This important Conference is about building relationships between local and state or federal agencies to prepare for, respond to and recover from all disasters in the most effective possible manner. It is about fostering partnerships so that when the unexpected happens – and it does – people working in the trenches have ready knowledge of and access to resources."

 

The deadline to register ($80.00 fee) and reserve your room at the special conference rate of $99.00 is fast approaching.

"Home, Ranch and Farm – Working Together Works!" Expect to learn why and how at the 2009 SART Conference…barely a month away.

Conference kick-off is set for 1:00 pm Wednesday March 25th. You can also learn more about the Green Movement because this year's "gone green" conference hotel is the Holiday Inn Oceanfront Resort, Cocoa Beach www.hicocoabeachhotelsite.com.

A link to registration and the very latest information about the conference agenda is available near the top of the home page of Florida's SART web site at www.flsart.org.


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Assessing “The Leon County Situation”
-How well is your county prepared?

Key points for Leon County. A relatively populous district surrounded by more rural, less populous counties and towns. Coastal communities evacuate to or through Tallahassee.

Positive:
- Our pet friendly shelter is in a hardened school staffed by a local DART group, but it is only available when Leon County itself will be impacted by the storm/disaster.
- A good working relationship with the local Red Cross - which also has a pet shelter supply trailer for their human shelters.
- A strong volunteer base: DART and volunteer Leon groups.
- Strong veterinary support: private practice and shelter vets.
- Strong retail support.
- Work well with other animal support groups.
- A large number of pet friendly hotels.
- Good distribution of pet- and disaster-preparedness literature from multiple groups.
- Strong working relations with local animal shelter.
- Strong working relations with the Sheriff’s Department

Employees all have personal disaster preparedness plans.
Employees and local DART group all trained in ICS-100 & NIMS IS-700.

Needs attention:
- How and where to house evacuee pets when the Red Cross only opens a host (people only) shelter?
- Work with local kennels and veterinary clinics to discount the cost to house animals during an emergency situation.

Submitted by:
Richard H. Ziegler, Director, Leon County Animal Control

(850) 606-5400  zieglerr@leoncountyfl.gov

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Extended Conference Agenda

Wednesday Morning March 25th
8:00-Noon      Registration

Wednesday Afternoon March 25th
1:00 Welcome
Tim Manning, USDA/FSA, Conference Co-Chair
1:30 SART Partner: Florida Animal Control Assn.
Craig Engelson, Brevard County Animal Services
2:15 FEMA, ESF 11, USDA (FEMA)
Dr. Chambless, USDA ESF-11 Regional Coordinator
Kay Carter-Corker, USDA/APHIS Animl Care
3:30 Citizen Corps (DHS), New Animal Responders
Penny Burke, Citizen Corps Program
4:15 DOACS – Agroterrorism
Dr. Steve Goldsmith, USDOJ/FBI

Thursday Morning March 26th

8:00 Agriculture: Economic Impact of
Emergencies
Alan Hodges and Edward Evans, IFAS
9:00 Livestock: Industry’s concerns
Ashby Green NCBA
Dee Ellis, Assistant Executive Director,
Texas Animal Health Commission
10:30 Bio-Security: At Home, On the Ranch & In
the Field
Matt Hersom, IFAS
11:30 Awards luncheon
Tim Manning and Dr. Joan Dusky, Host
Sheryl Maddux, Director, USDA Office of
Homeland Security

Thursday Afternoon March 26th

1:00 County ESF 17 – panel discussion
Moderator, Bill Armstrong, Hillsborough
County, Panel: Richard Ziegler, Leon
County; Dianne Sauve, Palm Beach County;
Rene Segraves, Lake County
2:00 Pet-Friendly Evacuation Sheltering
Moderator, Joe Kight ESF-17 ECO
Panel members: Karan Hagan, American
Red Cross, ESF-6; Emily Meyer, DEM
Community Assistance Consultant; Laura
Bevan, HSUS
3:30 Florida VET Corps “How to use it.”
John Haven, UF College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Greg Christy, FDACS
4:30 Using SART/CART – panel discussion
Moderator: David Perry, FDACS
Panel members: Dr. Terry Spencer, Pasco County; Paul Studivant, St. Johns County; Raquel Aluisy, Hillsborough County


Friday Morning March 27th

8:00 The Africanized Honey Bee
Dr. Jamie Ellis, UF/IFAS
9:00 HASMAT training
John Haven, UF College of Veterinary Medicine
 Noon Conference Adjourns
Tim Manning, Wrap-Up

Beware of the Bees

Dr. Jamie Ellis delivers the latest scoop on Africanized honey bees in Florida.

“I stress that we need honey bees in agriculture and, since it is almost impossible to tell the two European and African strains apart, to leave bees as you find them, let them do their work.

“If a hive of bees becomes overly aggressive – and you will know right away if they do – call your county extension office or an expert who can safely remove the hive.”


A Florida “green hotel” with a one-palm designation, the Holiday Inn Oceanfront Resort – Cocoa Beach, offers a conference rate of $99 single/double (and for those who may be able to couple business with pleasure, it is holding those rates for three days prior to and following the conference). The hotel is located at 1300 N Atlantic Avenue in Cocoa Beach. To make hotel reservations, call 800-206-2747 or (321) 783-2271. Ask for “Florida SART Conference” to get the conference rate. The cut-off date for reservations is February 24, 2009.

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A Conference Special Note Thursday afternoon at 3:30pm
John Haven speaks about The Florida Veterinary Reserve Corps

       The VET Corps is the state of Florida Reserve Corps for volunteer veterinarians and technicians.  It is supported by the FVMA, the UF CVM and FDACS-AI.

       For everyone’s safety and the most effective, coordinated use of time and resources, it is important that during a disaster, individuals respond as part of a team, and within the Incident Command System (ICS). The VET Corps provides a structure for organization, training and deploying volunteers during and in the immediate aftermath of disasters.

       VET CORPS members are only required to complete some very basic training, which can all be completed on line; however several members have participated in advanced training, and field exercises that include technical rescue, AgERT, etc.

       VET CORPS members will typically deploy as auxiliaries with the UF CVM VETS team. Their mission will be to provide assessment of the veterinary infrastructure, perform basic field veterinary care, and perform large animal technical rescue. Team members may be used to assist in disease outbreaks as well, where initial boots on the ground monitoring and detection, before out of state resources are mobilized, is critical.
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An Open Letter to SART Members

           I’m delighted with the invitation to attend the Florida SART Conference. I have always appreciated the hard work and dedication of SART members. As you know only too well, no one person or group can effectively respond to an emergency or disaster on their own: it takes everyone working together to get the job done.

            The theme for this year’s Florida conference Home, Ranch and Farm –Working Together Works is a very true statement. The individuals that make up each of those areas play an important role in maintaining our vital agricultural base and an even greater role when we are addressing an unknown all-hazards horizon.

            I realize that responding is just one of the steps, and that being ready to respond takes a great deal effort and work. SART brings all of the components together because your members are involved in the preparedness, planning and also the recovery efforts.

            Each of the steps require having good communications and I feel that is what a conference such as this can bring to America’s program of preparation. Coming together to exchange ideas and information is important and doing it face-to-face takes communication one step farther and makes it all that more effective. It is important that people who are going to work together spend time together in both information sharing and social environments. I feel spending this time together prepares us to work together more effectively and efficiently when an incident occurs.

            So thank you for the invitation. I look forward to attending the March Conference.

Sheryl K. Maddux
Director, USDA Office of Homeland Security
Office of the Secretary
(202) 720-7654  sheryl.maddux@osec.usda.gov


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Your Pre-Conference Exam

So, you and you team are prepared for any hazard, natural or human, eh. Here is a self-test from the Florida SART archive of Training Materials to help you make that determination. (Training materials archive www.flsart.org/library/index.htm).

 

1.

 

(True/False) Evidence is defined…as all the means by which any alleged matter of fact is established or disproved. In other words, evidence is anything that can prove or disprove a case.
(“Evidence Preservation and Chain of Custody Issues”)

 

2.

 

(True/False) The mission of the Farm Service Agency is to ensure the profitability of American  agriculture….
(“Introducing the Farm Service Agency”)

 

3.

 

(Fill in the blank) To send plant samples by mail for analysis, wrap them in _______ (wet or dry) paper before shipping.
(“Quality and Secure Plant and Insect Sample Submissions”)

 

4.

 

(Multiple choice) Which of the following is not a role of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Animal Industry:

•monitoring for brucellosis in hogs and pigs
•maintaining an alert status for avian influenza
•periodically surveying cattle for “mad cow” disease
•the quarantine of mink coats to halt mink flea-wart spread
•controlling exotic deer transport to prevent chronic wasting

(“Introducing Florida’s Livestock & Horse Industries”)

 

5.

 

(Fill in the blank) Florida Agriculture is a $_______ a year industry.
(“Biosecurity for Florida Producers”)

 

6.

 

(Recall the definition) A FAD, is defined by the three points below.
• An exotic, important, transmissible livestock or poultry disease
• Believed to be absent from the US and its territories
• Has potential to cause significant health/economic impact, should it be introduced
What do the initials FAD stand for?
(“Livestock & Horses: Foreign Animal Disease Recognition”)

 

7.

 

(Fill in the blanks) Food and agricultural safety refers to the _______ contamination of food whereas security refers to _______ contamination.
(“Fighting Agricultural Terrorism in Florida”)

 

8.

 

(Fill in the blank) Pet-friendly shelters are important. A recent survey indicated that _______% of the people who did not evacuate for Hurricane Katrina stayed, at least in part, because they did not want to abandon their pets.
(“Organizing Pet-Friendly Evacuation Shelters: Best Practices for Florida”)

 

9.

 

(Supply the missing word) _______ is the action of killing an animal for reasons considered to be merciful, and may be the most humane alternative when dealing with seriously ill or injured animals.
(“Emergency First Aid for Cats and Dogs”)

 

10.

 

(Fill in the blank) Because of its geographic position and climate; variety of ethnic groups; and diversity of agricultural industries, from horses to poultry to citrus and sugar cane, Florida gives early warning to other states about the appearance of new or exotic and invasive species. Only the state of _______ hosts more invasive, noxious species than Florida. Florida is thus considered a _______ an early warning state.
(“The Threat of Agroterrorism and Bioterrorism in Florida
Prevention and a Coordinated Response”)

 

11.

 

(Multiple choice) Foreign animal diseases find their way into the U.S. through:

•Imported and smuggled animals and birds
•Fomites and vectors
•Imported animal products
•People
•All of the above.

(“Recognizing and Responding to Foreign Animal Diseases”)

 

12.

 

(Fill in the blanks) For planning purposes it is necessary to estimate pet populations in a response region. What percentage of U.S. households own the following types of pets and how many reside in each household?

•Dogs
•Cats
•Birds
•Horses

(“Pets & Disasters: Identifying Community Needs and Resources”)
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Conference Preview: Pet-Friendly Evacuation Sheltering Thursday Afternoon at 2:00 pm

Federal laws and supporting state legislation now require counties to accommodate pets and companion animals in emergency preparedness plans. In an era of greater governmental requirements and shrinking resources, how do we make this happen?

Thursday at 2:00 pm, Florida ESF-17 coordinator Joe Kight and panel members Karan Hagan (American Red Cross, ESF-6), Emily Meyer (DEM Community Assistance Consultant) and Laura Bevan (HSUS) will lead a dynamic, open session in a frank

discussion: “Where are we and where do we go from here? Now that pet evacuation and sheltering is the law of the land, how do we get it done?”

The discussion will include:

  • “Best practices” for sheltering and how they have evolved
  • Illustrations from the Florida Keys and Monroe County from 2008
  • Coordination of counties with/without declared emergencies
  • Keeping people excited and trained in years when nothing happens….
  • Discussion about schools and pets – changing perceptions and our response
  • Is it reasonable that school boards would refuse to use school buildings for pet friendly shelters or are they justifiably reluctant?
  • FEMA reimbursements and clean-up


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Assessing and Preparing for Climate Change

Selecting strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change requires balancing the costs that society will incur now with future benefits and avoided damages.

While the mitigation costs are significant and real, benefit estimates often diverge among studies. Two economic studies of the climate change impact on

 

Florida's economy, Stanton and Ackerman (2007) and Harrington and Walton (2007), though different in approaches and methodologies, agree in the main conclusion—that the economic impacts will be significant.
Stanton and Ackerman (2007) show that the annual losses from four climate change impacts—tourism reductions, hurricane damages, real estate losses, and increased costs of electricity generation—may reach $345 billion (in 2006 U.S. dollars) by the end of the twenty-first century.
In turn, Harrington and Walton (2007) find significant property value at risk of inundation due to sea level rises, as well as the potential for much increased storm damage from storm surges. The value of land at risk for 2080 represents a significant portion of the property wealth in the three coastal counties examined (Dade, Duval, and Escambia), more than $10 billion in Dade County alone.
Source: “Conclusions” excerpted from a report by Tatiana Borisova (Asst. Professor, Food and ResourceEconomics, U. Florida), Norman Breuer (Assoc. Research Scientist, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, U. Miami), and Roy Carriker (Professor, Food and Resource Economics, U. Florida)

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Bee College
“Florida’s Most Extensive Honey Bee Educational Event”

Bee College 2009
Friday and Saturday, March 20th and 21st
Whitney Labs north of St. Augustine on A1A

Speakers
Dr. Keith Delaplane, U.Ga.
Jerry Hayes, Chief Apiarist, State of Florida
Robert Brewer, Certified Welsh County Honey Judge
Dr. Bill Kern, UF
Dr. Glen Hall, UF
And 12 additional knowledgeable presenters
Cost
$100 per day
$160 for both days (reduced rates may apply)

Special Courses, March 19th
UF instructors are offering the Apprentice and Advanced Beekeeper courses. Registration is open from 7:30-8:00 am and the cost of each is $30.

  • Apprentice Training – Classes on honey bee biology, beekeeping equipment, honey production and products, keeping bees in Florida and honey bee diseases. Afternoon: a practical examination followed by a written exam.
  • Advanced Training – Classes on pesticides, pollination, pests and diseases, African bees and advanced bee and wasp biology. Afternoon: a written examination followed by a practical exam.

Additional information:
Michael O’Malley, UF Honeybee Labs, 352-392-1901 x 189 omalleym@ufl.edu. Download the registration form for Bee College, information about discount hotels and general bee and pollinator information from www.ufhoneybee.com.

The Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience (9505 Ocean Shore Blvd. 904-461-4000) is located in Marineland, on the border between St. Johns and Flagler counties in northeast Florida. The eight-acre campus is situated on a narrow barrier island, bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway, both of which are just a few hundred feet away.
Bee College will be held at the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience across US A1A from Marineland.

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AgERT Training Is Still Available

Basic Agricultural Emergency Response Training (AgERT) provides an overview of agro-terrorism as well as chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive hazards, relative to potential impact on ag resources and the ag community.

The course lasts 32 hours. Lectures include response actions, epidemiology, zoonotic and foreign animal diseases, animal restraint and euthanasia, and animal carcass disposal. Hands-on training teaches the selection and use of Personal Protective Equipment, decontamination, using survey and monitoring equipment, and preserving a crime scene. The course ends with an exercise requiring response to a hazardous event in an agricultural setting.

Location: Center for Domestic Preparedness, Anniston, AL
Audience: Veterinarians, animal health technicians, animal inspectors, food inspectors, HAZMAT technicians, game wardens and animal control officers
Additional Qualifications/Certifications: AgERT candidates have successfully completed awareness training for CBRNE response and the FEMA IS-700 course.
Dates: March 1-7, April 5-11, May 3-9 and June 7-13
Cost: Free
Web site: https://cdp.dhs.gov/resident/agert.html


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Wildfires: What can Florida
learn from Australia’s fire season?

Wildfires in Australia have killed more than 200 people and countless livestock and wild animals this month. Driven by high winds, many families were trapped and perished inside their vehicles

Nearly 200 people have perished from wildfires sweeping southeastern Australia (and dozens died recently in Greece). This certainly gives us pause because we are approaching Florida’s own dry season and hence its spring wildfire season.

According to an Associated Press report “Many people waited too long and perished as they tried to escape the weekend infernos.” Australia’s policy has long held that individuals must make their own decisions about whether to evacuate or to stay and fight a wildfire. This policy is complicated in

many rural or far-flung suburban areas:

  • Fire Departments are often staffed by volunteer firefighters who are not completely trained and equipped.
  • Rural or suburban zones have no comprehensive alert system – indeed, Australians are divided whether any alert system would truly be effective.
  • Thousands of ex-urbanites now live on small plots in the rural areas, people who are unused to the rural lifestyle.

    • When confronted by the recent firestorms, almost impenetrable walls of flame, heat and smoke whipped by strong sub-hurricane-force winds, people waited until the last minute to evacuate; roads became jammed and, in the billowing smoke, accidents caused dozens of people to die in their automobiles.

    Healesville, Australia’s County Fire Authority Chief Paul Rees said, “The clear evidence is that the most dangerous place to be is on the road.”


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    Extension Disaster Education Network News
    EDEN Conference Set For October 6 - October 9

    Indiana’s EDEN members say they “can't wait” to host the annual meeting at the Sheraton Downtown in Indianapolis October 6-9, 2009.

    The annual meeting committee is hard at work now and while the format is not locked into place, the tentative format is to hold pre-conference training on the 6th; the program and annual meeting on the 7th and 8th; and an optional tour on the 9th.

    “We intend to send out the calls for proposals to present at this meeting in March 2009,” say program organizers at Purdue University. “We will post the program as soon as the proposals are in and reviewed. We hope that is by May of 2009.”

    In the meantime if you have comments or questions about the 2009 EDEN annual meeting call anyone on the program committee at the above link or contact Steve Cain (cain@purdue.edu) or Abigail Borron (aborron@purdue.edu) at the Purdue Extension Service.


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    About the SART Sentinel

    Editor: Rick Sapp, PhD, Technical Writer, Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Division of Animal Industry [rsa5@cox.net]

    Associate Editor: Joe Kight, State ESF-17 Coordinator, Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Division of Animal Industry [kightj@doacs.state.fl.us]

    The SART SENTINEL is an E-mail newsletter prepared monthly by Rick Sapp and the members of the Florida State Agricultural Response Team. Past issues of the Sentinel are archived on the Florida SART Web Site, www.flsart.org.

    If you have a story or photo that you would like to have considered for publication in The SART SENTINEL, please contact the Editors.


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    Pre-Conference Exam Answers

     

    1.

     

    True.
    (Prepared by Col. Darrell Lifford, Director of Law Enforcement, Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement, with Eric Hallman, Agricultural Safety Specialist, Charles Brown, Information and Publications Specialist, and Carol Lehtola, Assoc. Professor, Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, UF)

     

    2.

     

    False. The Mission of the Farm Service Agency is: “To ensure the well-being of American  agriculture and the American public through efficient and equitable administration of agricultural commodity, farm loan, conservation, environmental, emergency assistance, and domestic and international food assistance programs.”
    (Prepared by Tim Manning, USDA/FSA Dispute Resolution Coordinator)

     

    3.

     

    Wrap plant samples in dry paper before shipping. Adding water or wrapping them in wet papers will cause the sample to degrade and allow the growth of molds.
    Sample submission forms are available at http://plantpath.ifas.ufl.edu/pdc/.
    (Prepared by Amanda Hodges, PhD, Southern Plant Diagnostic Network, UF, and Rick Sapp, PhD, FDACS/FL SART Technical Writer)

     

    4.

     

    (d) The quarantine of mink coats to halt mink-flea wart spread is not among the roles and responsibilities of FDACS.
    (Prepared by Rick Sapp, PhD, FDACS/FL SART Technical Writer and Elizabeth Wang, FL SART Coordinator, FDACS-DAI)

     

    5.

     

    $13 billion!
    (Prepared by John E. Crews, DVM, MS and John R. Irby, DVM, FDACS-DAI)

     

    6.

     

    FAD stands for Foreign Animal Disease.
    (Prepared by Christian Hofer, DVM, Katherine Maldonado, DVM, Paul Gibbs, BVSc, PhD, FRCVS, Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine; Charles Brown, Editor, and Carol Lehtola, PhD, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, UF)

     

    7.

     

    Food and agricultural safety refers to the accidental contamination of food whereas security refers to intentional contamination.
    (Prepared by FDACS Office of Bio and Food Security Preparedness)

     

    8.

     

    44%!
    (Prepared by Ami Neiberger-Miller and Rick Miller, Steppingstone; Charles Brown, Editor, and Carol Lehtola, PhD, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, UF)

     

    9.

     

    Euthanasia.
    (Prepared by Amy Stone, PhD, College of Veterinary Medicine; Eric Hallman, Agricultural Safety, Charles M. Brown, Information and Publications, and Carol Lehtola, PhD, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, UF)

     

    10.

     

    Only the state of Hawaii hosts more invasive, noxious species than Florida. Florida is thus considered a Sentinel State, an early warning state.
    (Prepared by Amanda Hodges, PhD, Southern Plant Diagnostic Network, UF, and Rick Sapp, PhD, FDACS/FL SART Technical Writer)

     

    11.

     

    e. All of the above allow foreign animal diseases to enter the US.
    (Prepared by Paul Gibbs, BVSc, PhD, FRCVS, College of Veterinary Medicine, UF)

     

    12.

     

    a. Dogs: 40% (1.7/household)
    b. Cats: 30% (2.1/household)
    c. Birds: 3% (2.2/household)
    d. Horses: 2% (2.5/household)
    (Prepared by Laura Bevan, Director, HSUS-SE Region; Chris Eversole and Carol Lehtola, PhD, UF)

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