> This is a conservation issue ... As soon as you start selecting amongst your stock for favourable beekeeping traits, you are departing from the wild type. Probably not what you want if conservation is your goal.

Exactly, conservation of original species and ecosystems is probably the exact opposite of breeding and agriculture. Oddly, a similar approach is often taken, where the conservationist is constantly trying to influence the outcome by culling and selection. As opposed to simply stepping back and allowing "nature" to proceed. Rather than view this as the conflict between two opposing sides (conservationists vs agriculture) some people have looked at the third path, viewing "novel ecosystems" as the product of nature, without human involvement. see Emma Marris "Rambunctious Garden." 

> If we cannot go back, she says, then perhaps it is time to widen the view of what is truly valuable. (NY Times interview)

PLB

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