19 September 2001

VANCOUVER, BC - A new solution to the threat of foreign and invasive pests such as the European Gypsy Moth will be unveiled Sept. 24, when Global Forest Society of Vancouver, in partnership with Simon Fraser University, opens its International Insect Quarantine Laboratory. The facility will safely study dangerous defoliating insects that threaten the multi-billion-dollar forest and agriculture industries in western North America and worldwide.

These pests easily migrate to new territories via cargo ships. The difficulty in combating them, and controlling the damage their infestations cause, lies in the lack of basic biological knowledge, and effective, anticipatory, environmentally sound control measures. Global Forest's International Insect Quarantine Laboratory will contribute research to proactive plans that protect native forests and agricultural crops.

"These foreign pests kill local forests because there are no existing natural defenses," says Dr. Reese Halter, founder of Global Forest. "Our quarantine lab is a crucial element in developing the necessary biological safeguards. The urgency of this knowledge grows as the world shrinks under global trade and ecosystems face greater pressures."

Dr. Gerhard Gries of Simon Fraser University in Canada and Dr. Paul Schaefer of the United States Department of Agriculture are two of the preeminent scientists that contributed to the development of the facility. Dr. Gries, who will attend the opening ceremonies, is a world-renowned entomologist who, in 1997, successfully developed the pheromone lure that stopped the pernicious White Spotted Tussock Moth from destroying New Zealand's forests.

The official opening of the International Insect Quarantine Laboratory will be held on Sept. 24 at the Science Annex Building at SFU (actual address), where the laboratory is located.

Tuscon and Banff-based Global Forest Science (www.globalforestscience.org) is a forest biology research institute. With an international multi-disciplinary team of 165 scientists, Global Forest Science is a world leader in forest science research and has often been likened to the Red Adair's of the forest biology world. Global Forest Sciences' many victories ranging from legislation to protect the threatened westslope cutthroat trout of British Columbia, protection of the world's largest ant colony, opening an international insect quarantine facility and helping to save New Zealand's multi billion dollar forestry and agriculture industries from the Australian painted apple moth. Global Forest Science is also dedicated to children's ecological education - visit GFAwesome.
(www.gfawesome.org)

For more information, please contact:
Email: info@globalforestscience.org
Phone: 818.851.9682