Long-term studies are hard to find.  I'm heading to Bozeman for the MT Beekeepers State Meeting this Thursday and Friday, and the Workshops for Smaller Scale Beekeepers that we'll put on from 9-3 on Saturday - Holiday Inn on Baxter.  I'm also conducting end of the season field trials and wrapping up a Journeyman online class this week - so I won't get to the original paper until next week.  


I'll be curious as to whether they take into account urban sprawl, human population increase, changes in habitat or habitat management.  Looking at the US, for example, the human population growth over the last 200 years is somewhat mind-boggling.


Certainly in our own Missoula valley, the town in 40 years has spread to encompass a big part of the valley.  Open agricultural lands are becoming islands.  At FT Missoula, where I used to get great knapweed honey crops now has two full-sized golf courses, and a whole lot of softball, soccer, and rugby fields - none of which has anything but lawn for bees.  Wild lands have had the 'weeds' killed to remove the non-natives, but no money to re-seed to restore the native forbes, so lots of bunch grasses, etc., but again, nothing for bees.  Still the river riparian habitat classification holds for anything not turned into lawns.  But, the only riparian and remnant prairie are a few acres between the golf courses (where our original registered apiary sits), and a slender strip of land along the river per se.


Over 44 years since I came here - same habitats, same city, just a whole lot more city and a whole lot less habitats - whether native or agricultural.

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