Project Leaders
Project Manager ~ Osceola County
Eleanor Foerste
Osceola County Extension Office
Osceola Heritage Park
1921 Kissimmee Valley Lane
Kissimmee, FL 34744-6107
Email: efoe@osceola.org
Eleanor Foerste is the Natural Resources Extension Faculty for UF/IFAS Osceola County Extension Service. As Project Manager, Eleanor will
oversee all project elements and serve as point of contact for Osceola County and University of Florida. She is also responsible for
implementing the approved work plan and following EPA and County policies and procedures.
Quality Assurance Management
Dr. Kenneth L. Langeland
University of Florida/IFAS
Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants
7922 NW 71st Street
Gainesville, Florida
Email: gator8@ufl.edu
Dr. Ken Langeland is a professor at the University of Florida, focusing on refining methods for managing upland invasive vegetation.
For this project, Dr. Langeland will serve as the Quality Assurance Manager for Elements 1 and 2, and Tasks 2 and 3 of Element 3. He will
be responsible for review of notebooks, documents, and records and he will review all reports (quarterly and final). On an annual basis Dr.
Langeland will conduct one field audit and one laboratory audit for each of the Elements. Dr. Langeland can also conduct spot checks at his discretion.
Dr. Lane P. Tredway
North Carolina State University
Department of Plant Pathology
Campus Box 7616/3415 Gardner Hall
Raleigh, NC 27695
Email: lane_tredway@ncsu.edu
An assistant professor of plant pathology at North Carolina State University, Dr. Lane Tredway focuses on important diseases of turfgrasses in
golf courses, sod farms, landscapes, and athletic fields. His responsibilities as Quality Assurance Manager include review of notebooks,
documents, and records. He will also review all reports (quarterly and final) generated by scientists working on Element 3 Task 1. Dr.
Tredway will review all laboratory and field data two times annually, once in January and once in July.
Project Coordinators
Dr. William Haller
University of Florida/IFAS
Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants
7922 NW 71st Street
Gainesville, FL 32653
Email: whaller@ufl.edu
Dr. William Haller is the acting Director for the Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants (CAIP), a professor at the University of Florida
and a leader in aquatic plant management will coordinate and be responsible for tasks under Element 1: Development and Testing of New
Aquatic Herbicides. This will include the design, execution and final data reporting from small-scale research at the CAIP, as well as
research and demonstration sites in Osceola County. Dr. Haller will be responsible for carrying out QA/QC activities, assessments/audits
and corrective actions for Element 1.
Dr. Mike Netherland
US Army Engineer Research and Development Center
7922 NW 71st Street
Gainesville, FL 32653
Email: mdnether@ufl.edu
Dr. Michael Netherland is a courtesy professor at the University of Florida and works for the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center.
His research emphasis is on the efficacy, selectivity, and dissipation of current EPA-registered aquatic herbicides and algaecides. Dr.
Netherland will serve as the lead scientist and overall coordinator for work conducted under Element 2: Evaluation of Currently Registered
Herbicides for Control of Hydrilla and Hygrophila. He will be responsible for demonstration design, and data collection for field
projects in Osceola County and for research conducted at the CAIP research facility in Gainesville. Dr. Netherland will be responsible
for carrying out QA/QC activities, assessments/audits and corrective actions for Element 2.
Dr. Mark A. Heilman
SePRO Corporation
11550 North Meridian Street Suite 600
Carmel, IN 46032
Email: markh@sepro.com
Dr. Mark Heilman is an Aquatics Technology Leader for SePRO Corporation. His responsibilities at SePRO include developing new technologies for
aquatic invasive plant control. He will serve as overall coordinator for work conducted under Element 3, Task 1: Demonstration of Hydrilla Control
in Osceola County, Florida using Mycoleptodiscus terrestris (Mt), a Contact Bioherbicide for Aquatic Plant Management. He will be
responsible for demonstration design, conduct, and data collection for field studies in Osceola County and for evaluations conducted at
the SePRO Research and Technology Campus (SRTC) in Whitakers, NC. He will collaborate on study designs and coordinate the overall work
plan with other project scientists. Dr. Heilman will be responsible for carrying out QA/QC activities, assessments/audits and corrective
actions for Element 3, Task 1.
Dr. James P. Cuda
University of Florida/IFAS
Department of Entomology and Nematology
Bldg. 970, Natural Area Dr.
PO Box 110620
Gainesville, FL 32611-0620
Email: jcuda@ufl.edu
Dr. James P. Cuda is an associate professor at the University of Florida, screening and evaluating insect natural enemies for classical biological control of invasive weeds. His responsibility for the grant is overall management of Element 3, Task 2: Foreign Exploration for Natural Enemies of Hygrophila. This will include supervision of exploration for natural enemies with partners in India, rearing and identification of insects, preliminary screening of candidate biological control agents in India, and acquiring permits for importation of biocontrol agents into Florida quarantine for host range testing. Dr. Cuda will be responsible for carrying out QA/QC activities, assessments/audits and corrective actions for Element 3, Task 2.
Dr. William Overholt
Biological Control Research and Containment Laboratory
Indian River Research and Education Center
University of Florida/IFAS
2199 South Rock Rd.
Fort Pierce, FL 34945
Email: waoverholt@ifas.ufl.edu
Dr. William Overholt is an associate professor at the University of Florida, specializing in biological control of invasive plants. His responsibilities include overall management of Element 3, Task 3: Collaborative Effort to Search for Natural Enemies of Hydrilla in East Africa. This will include supervision of exploration for natural enemies with partners in Africa, rearing insects, application for importation of candidate biological control agents, importation of agents, host range testing in Florida quarantine, application for field release of selected agents, field release and post-release evaluation. Dr. Overholt will be responsible for carrying out QA/QC activities, assessments/audits and corrective actions for Element 3, Task 3.
Stacia Hetrick, Faculty-Aquatics
UF/IFAS Osceola County Extension
1921 Kissimmee Valley Lane
Kissimmee, FL 34744
Stacia Hetrick is the Aquatics Extension Faculty for UF/IFAS Osceola County Extension Service. Her responsibility for the grant is overall management of Element 4: Demonstration and Outreach. This will include conducting demonstration field days, maintaining an interactive website, and developing and presenting visual displays to keep stakeholders informed of the progress of hydrilla and hygrophila management and newly emerging management strategies. She will also be participating in teacher workshops on aquatic plants and presenting at scientific meetings to share research relating to hydrilla and hygrophila management.
