The following is the official word from the Director of Boy Scout Advancement in regards to the beekeeping merit badge

~Dear Tom:
~
~I checked on this and the answer is we will not consider reinstating any =
~merit badge or adding to other merit badges until the current five year =
~plan to revise the merit badges currently being offered is completed.  At =
~that time, the committee would be willing to take a look at this subject =
~matter and determine whether to reinstate the merit badge or incorporate =
~it someway into an existing merit badge (Insect Study, etc.)
~
~I hope this answers the question.
~
~Sincerely,
~
~Terry Lawson, Director
~Boy Scout Advancement
~
~>>> Cara & Tom Patterson <[log in to unmask]> 11/09/01 08:37PM >>>
~Hello Terry
~
~Would you please comment on the following:
~
~"Thanks to that effort and the hours of work by many others and the
~ receipt of many calls and letters from concerned beekeepers who began=20
~ as Boy Scouts, Mr. John  Dalrymple, Advancement Director, Boy Scouts of
~ America stated that the national review committee had reconsidered =
~this=20
~ badge and that on February 9, 1999 had decided to reinstate the merit=20
~ badge."
~
~
~I hope this is true but cannot find support of it on any of the scouting
~sites.    I contacted Paul Wolf and he said:
~
~::I haven't seen anything to indicate they were adding it back in.  The =
~last=20
~::I heard was they were not adding ANY new badges (or reinstating any =20
~::discontinued badges from the past) until they complete a review of all =
~of=20
~::the current merit badges over a 5 year period.
~::
~::Mr. Dalrymple passed away a year or so ago.  His replacement is Terry=20
~::Lawson.  You may want to write to him at BSA HQ to get a definitive =
~answer.
~::
~::--
~::Yours in Scouting,
~::
~::Paul S. Wolf, PE
~::Advancement/Safety Webmaster
~::US Scouting Service Project, Inc.
~::mailto:[log in to unmask]
~::http://usscouts.org=20
~
~As such I am contacting you.
~
~Thank you in advance
~
~Tom Patterson