> It seems that a robust Bombus inventory and monitoring program here
requires trained personnel and monetary resources (most likely
government).  Citizen science can’t do this job.

An interesting claim, Peter.  Are you saying that eager, educated citizens
looking for a meaningful avocation are incapable of being trained to
identify bumblebee species?  The history of bird or astronomy surveys (as
already mentioned) certainly does not support that claim.

As far as monetary resources, what would a government spend that money on?
I suspect that it would likely be on labor costs.  Free labor by willing
volunteers can have considerable value.

We here in California have highly trained citizen volunteers (generally
self funded) involved in all sorts of environmental monitoring and
improvement programs.  They provide the trained eyes, ears, and assistance
to scientists who lack the manpower or funding to do the work themselves.

And as Charlie says, the findings of this sort of collaborative research
come from the citizens themselves, not from a "government" that they
support with their taxes.  The citizenry thus becomes its own spokesperson,
and better "buys in" to its findings, and thus is more prone to act and
push for legislation as a result of their findings.

Dedicated, environmentally-motivated citizens can be of great help to
short-funded scientists.  It's up to the scientists to learn how to train
and guide them.

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

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