>
> >those men and women took a place that is worthless,  and make it
> productive..... It now generates crops and more waterfowl than most have
> ever seen in one spot.
>

C'mon Charlie,  "worthless"?  John Muir describes the beauty and variety of
flora in the Central Valley prior to agriculture.  It was already a
wildlife and waterfowl oasis prior to European settlement.  Early honey
yields were fantastic.  All prior to conversion of the land to agriculture.

But yes, if we divert enough water from our rivers, we can farm the land
very productively.  I'm not saying this is right or wrong, but the author
(who spent time with me early in his research) paints a pretty accurate
picture.

>
> >Shes also off on how many hives get moved out there,  bit of an stretch.
> Its roughly 30% of the managed hives.
>

I'd like to hear how you come up with that figure.  We involved in almond
pollination come up with a much higher figure.

>  Still around 15% of our land mass is AG,  not even a 1% change in the
last decade.

Charlie, you may be missing the point that that 15% is the most
biologically productive land.  So any human impact on it has a
disproportionate influence on pollinators and wildlife.  I've visited ag
areas that are green from horizon to horizon, yet won't support a half
dozen colonies in an apiary.

>
> >Why is it every article we read has to be doom and gloom and anti
> farming???


There are many of us who are pro farming, but want to see our environmental
stewardship improved.  This is not doom and gloom nor anti farming.


-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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