Project leader Rick Nelson traveled to Washington, DC to participate in a meeting with management and fish health representatives from Regions 3, 5 and Washington Office. The topics of discussions were the fish pathogen Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) on December 4 and 5, 2006. The major topics of discussion were:

 1) Funding opportunities in FY07, 08, & 09 and time tables for achieving goals.

 2) APHIS new emergency restriction regarding movement of live fish susceptible to                 VHS.

 3) Wild Fish Health Survey improvement and update review of web database.  

 4) Committee assignments and due dates.

Participants included R3 Fish Hatchery Supervisor Todd Turner; Rick Nelson, Director of the La Crosse Fish Health Center; R5 John Coll, Director of the Lamar Fish Health Center; R1 Guppy Blair, Fish Health Biologist and FWS liaison to National Aquatic Animal Health Task Force; WO Stuart Leon, Chief of Hatcheries; Jon Streifert, Branch Chief of Hatchery Operations and Maintenance; Joe Moran, Branch Chief of Budget and Performance Management; Evert Wilson, Deputy Assistant Director-Fisheries; Robert Bakal, National Aquatic Health Coordinator Biologist; and Josh Bradley, Wild Fish Survey Database Biologist.

Do to the National importance of the VHS issue to the FWS and the Great Lakes Basin many of the issues discussed at the meeting have fast completion dates to be ready for the upcoming season and the concerns of new outbreaks and the spread of the disease. For information contact Rick Nelson, La Crosse Fish Health Center.