Communications
The Insider begins a focus on professional development - employees who enhance their careers by going the extra mile to engage in endeavors outside “duties as required.” As they increase their professional expertise, their achievements benefit the work they do for WSDA and the state of Washington.
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| Dr. Katie Buckley with wine grapes in the background. |
Katie is an entomologist based in Yakima. She started working for WSDA three years ago. She primarily works on apple maggot, and grape and stone fruit surveys.
The Pest Program uses surveys to trap and count the number of invasive, destructive pests that can threaten Washington’s agricultural crops.
“Entomology was something I always wanted to do,” Katie said.
You may now address her as “Dr. Buckley.” She started working toward her PhD in entomology at WSU in 2011.
Helping Washington vineyards
Katie’s doctorate project aimed to determine if native plants, which require little or no irrigation, could be used to increase beneficial insect populations and enhance conservation biological control of wine-grape vineyard pests in Eastern Washington.
Vineyard growers in New Zealand and California have had success in using cover crops and hedgerows to increase beneficial pests and promote sustainable management. However, in arid wine growing regions like those here east of the Cascades, cover crops can be hard to grow and expensive due to water costs.
Katie’s project collected samples from four grape growing regions with some form of native habitat restoration. She used yellow sticky traps and leaf samples to monitor both beneficial and pest insects. These vineyards were compared to near-by conventional ones over a three-year period.
Showing commitment
Sven-Erik Spichiger, Pest Program managing entomologist, suggested profiling Katie.
“It’s always impressive when any employee takes steps to further their knowledge and education in the field they are working in,” Sven said. “It demonstrates a real commitment to the job of protecting Washington State's agricultural industries.”
Katie has already been getting lots of interest and inquiries about the results of her dissertation work. She’s considering writing a book about it.
After years of working at both a fulltime job and getting an advanced degree, what will Katie do with all that extra time?
“I’m looking forward to having my evenings and weekends back,” she said. “I’m finally getting back to my hobbies and getting some exercise again.”
In summary: What does professional development look like? It can take many forms. Katie Buckley, an entomologist with WSDA’s Pest Program, recently earned her PhD from WSU, researching the use of native plants to control pests in vineyards.
