http://www.xerces.org/Pollinator_Insect_Conservation/pollinator_week_act
ion.html

> I read the above link.

> In no place could I find any STATED GOAL of native 
> pollinators to COMPETE with beekeepers.  I can only 
> conclude that the above statement is a deliberate 
> attempt to mislead.

That's a pretty serious accusation.

OK, maybe you need to be pointed to the appropriate text
within the web page I cited:

THE COATTAILS:

"The recent widespread loss of honey bee colonies from Colony 
Collapse Disorder (CCD) has received a lot of media coverage. 
Major media outlets across the US have covered this story 
including the NY Times, the CBS Nightly News, and the Christian 
Science Monitor. At this time the cause of CCD remains a mystery. 
It may be one or more factors, such as parasitic mites, disease, 
pesticides or diet."

THE HOOK USED TO RIDE THE COATTAILS:

"No matter what the cause of these declines, many scientists feel 
that native pollinators - specifically, native bees - can be an 
insurance policy for honey bee scarcity."

THE RATIONALE FOR RIDING:

"The European honey bee is the most important single crop pollinator 
in the United States. However, with the decline in the number of 
managed honey bee colonies from diseases, parasitic mites, and 
Africanized bees - as well as from Colony Collapse Disorder - it 
is important to increase the use of native bees in our agricultural 
system."


Now remember, this sort of advocacy has been directly responsible
for the EXTINCTION of at least two kinds of bumblebees, so who
has the actual "preservation" of native bees foremost in their
hearts?  The folks who are using CCD as an excuse to justify 
exploitation when they should simply advocate preservation
and conservation?

Exploitation is rarely the path to conservation.
Check your history, man "manages" nature into a mess.
(Read "The Contol Of Nature" by John McPhee.)

> Jim, your reliability if not your credibility has been compromised. 

Again, a pretty serious accusation.

While you can feel free to interpret the clear words I quoted 
above from the web page cited any way you wish, you can't ignore
that the best summary of the quoted in context statements is 
"Kick 'em When They're Down".

Further, they are exploiting and exaggerating the scope and 
depth of the problem before the problem(s) are even understood!
They are doing so simply to make the case for exploitation of
wildlife.

I don't call that conservation.
I call that COMPETITION.

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