Washington, DC
November 24, 2003
U.S. Department of
Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's
Plant Protection and Quarantine program officials invite
interested stakeholders to participate in a public forum on
December 9-10 at the Melrose Hotel in Washington, D.C. The
purpose of the meeting is to exchange information with
stakeholders regarding future priorities, emerging pest threats
and partnering with stakeholders and other governmental
agencies.
The agenda
includes a series of presentations and five interactive panel
discussions on pest risk assessments, import permits and export
certification, the role of stakeholders in the U.S. Department
of Homeland Security, strategic approaches to exports and
incident command system models. Panel participants are
recognized leaders and experts from federal and state regulatory
agencies, congressional committees and key stakeholder groups.
The Melrose
Hotel is located at 2430 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington
D.C. Registration for the forum is free of charge and
guaranteed to the first 100 registrants. Interested
stakeholders should register online at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/stakeholders/meeting/index.html
by Nov. 30. Stakeholders who do not have access to the Internet
should register by contacting Linda Toran at (301) 734-5307.
The Melrose
Hotel is setting aside a number of rooms at the conference
rate. When reserving a room, stakeholders should specify the
USDA-APHIS rate. Stakeholders may register by calling (202)
955-6400 or toll free (800) 635-7673. Stakeholders also may
register for hotel accommodations online through a link on the
PPQ Web site. To ensure the group rate, please register with
the hotel by Nov. 24.
Notice of
the meeting was published in the Nov. 17 Federal Register.
APHIS documents published in the Federal Register and related
information, including the names of organizations and
individuals who have commented on APHIS dockets, are available
on the Internet at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html. |
