Hi All,

I'd like to keep this thread on track.  The facts are that some beekeepers have had trouble with CCD.  Some in Congress wish to help.  This timing happens to coincide with National Pollinator Week, spearheaded by groups that lobby for support of native pollinator species.  Emergency spending is difficult to fund.  We are all frustrated by this fact.  However, that does not imply that we need to heap opprobrium upon the native pollinator folk.

Could we all just drop the nonsense that any native pollinator advocate thinks that native species will replace honeybees for general agricultural pollination, or that they are "against" honeybees.  It's a clear fact that honeybees are instrumental in pollinating nonnative weeds, thereby disrupting some natural ecosystems, and that honeybees may at times compete for resources with native pollinators.  For the record, I have never spoken with Xerces Society, The North American Pollinator Protection Campaign, nor the Coevolution Institute.  I'm coming at this issue from the standpoint of a commercial beekeeper who makes his living by renting his honeybees for pollination, and as a biologist who realizes the importance of biodiversity.

The fact is that beekeepers are a disjointed and crochety group.  Our two main lobbying associations are often at odds, thereby paralyzing legistators, since none want to offend one group or the other.  Heck, we couldn't even vote to continue funding the National Honey Board!  Remember, we're still trying to recover from our negative image generated by Senator Proxmire's Golden Fleece criticisms of our honey price support program some years ago.  Amazingly, right here in California this last week, the legislature passed a bill restricting honeybees from mandarin citrus plantings!  Just shows you how much support we have from the agricultural lobby--our own Farm Bureau even backed off from supporting us.  And this is in a state that cries for bees to pollinate almonds and other crops every year!  The lobbyists hired by the AHPA and ABF have been notably absent in D.C of late.  The organizing of beekeepers is as difficult as herding cats.  If we could only present a common agenda to Washington, we might finally get some of the respect that we (our industry, not necessarily our members) deserve. 

We do not need to go blaming our problems on other groups, as we are often our own worst enemy, and other groups our best supporters.  To wit, the Senate Resources Committee hearings on pollinators at the end of June were organized and given by the Coevolution Institute, to coincide with National Pollinator Week, which was organized long before we had ever heard of CCD.  Shortly before the hearings, Coevolution realized that beekeepers were not going to be represented.  (And by the way, their "well-paid lobbyist" donates much of his time, as do the volunteer members of the organization).   They did not need to invite us to their "party."  However, in a generous gesture to beekeepers, they sent out feelers to find an appropriate beekeeper to speak (and for full disclosure, an email did reach me from their lobbyist, to which I replied by recommending more politically connected beekeeping figures).  Now here's the point:  CoE VOLUNTARILY GAVE UP THEIR WITNESS SPOT TO DANNY WEAVER IN ORDER TO ALLOW BEEKEEPERS TO BE REPRESENTED AT THE HEARINGS!  They did this intentionally, and graciously.

Immediately afterward, their generous gesture was responded to by a totally unfounded vituperative name-calling spew in which the writer accused them of hopping on "our" bill.  What a slap in the face!  A loose cannon beekeeper publicly insulted the very group that went out of their way to include us in the program.  There have been heated words in D.C. these last few days, and only by the intervention of unnamed (not me) beekeepers has this damage not blown up into a battle between the groups.  Indeed, I hope that my posts are acting toward damage control.  We need all the allies we can get in Washington--I hope we haven't lost this influential one due to other irresponsible posts.

Thanks, Steve, for your clear post re keeping an open mind about native pollinators.  If readers wish to learn more FACTS, they can go to this link (sent to me yesterday by a commercial beekeeper) http://www.ebeehoney.com/Pollination.html.  Beekeepers and native pollinator supporters have much in common.  I see no reason that we can't work together, if we expand our vision.  Let me tell you a story that illustrates the kind of chauvanistic tunnel vision that beekeepers are prone to:

In southern California, the desert bighorn sheep is trying to survive in a habitat increasingly impacted by humans.  It ekes out a tough living in a mountainous desert environment.  Critical watering holes are few and far between.  A few years ago, bighorn researchers noticed that the sheep were unable to get a drink, since a beekeeper had set down a truckload of hives within flight range of their desert water hole.  The bees mobbed the hole, and the sheep went thirsty.  Now, something similar has happened to me, with cattle troughs during drought, and there was never any question as to whether I would IMMEDIATELY move my bees, because the rancher spoke for his cattle.  However, when the wildlife managers spoke for the bighorns, the beekeeper, and a State beekeeping official, stood up for the "right" of the beekeeper to move his (nonnative) bees into a desert area which did not have enough water to support them, even though it threatened the survival of the native bighorn sheep!  Beekeepers with this kind of attitude, do not, in my opinion, "play well with others."

Allow me to return to the Senate hearings (I'm quoting brief notes from one of my independent sources):
"All 'stake holders' were encouraged to take part in National Pollinator Week: www.pollintor.org.
   Again, honey bee industry except for Danny Weaver's presence testimony was remarkably slim.

 Testimony given to The Natural Resources Committee:   CoE witness spot was given over
   to the bee industry.. Danny Weaver was asked to give testimony.. he did a fabulous job.
  ... and Kevin Hackett, USDA , also used much of his time to give info. on CCD and honey bees, habitat needs. 

   Over and over again during that week orchestrated by Nappc and CoE the spotlight was
   turned to honey bees.  Even at the stamp unveiling Secretary Johanns dedicated his
   entire speech to CCD and honey bees...

CoE is advocating for long term funding that would potentially reflect issues with all pollinators but is also
   supporting short term for honey bees...

[and from another report]

Emergency or 'earmark' appropriations can occur without new authority under the farm bill.
Maybe that was on the table at some point, conceivable that a member of Congress could
have slipped $$$ into FY(fiscal year) '08 ag. approps, but that when I was in D.C. that was
not the conversation.
 But what is important to understand is that it could still happen thru conference.  If [the critic] ... wanted to write a letter and get support for emergency appropiations to be the focus he but that needs to be communicated to [the congressional staffs].  It will be
a long shot to get home run on that.. But the important thing is to communicate, so that it paves the
way for future dialogue. 

I wish he could respect the work these people have put in over the years and that
it has been a long time coming and was not something that took advantage of
dead outs from CCD or whatever.  And I wish he could understand that while growers
may support the current bills there is no crisis being expressed from the ag point of view thus little
urgency for Congress to act. If he could have heard the speakers at all these events
emphasize the importance of honey bees and pollination services.. in particular May's [May Behrenbaum]
concern for guys in the industry, I think he would see that everyone seems to be on the
same page except him....Economics, not fear still rules in D.C."

O.K., Senator Hasting's staffer in charge of the Pollinator Protection Act finally returned from vacation, and we chatted this morning.  I asked him why the Senator had not requested an "appropriation" for immediate funds.  He explained that one needs to have an "authorization" BEFORE one can ask for an "appropriation"--that's why he introduced the Pollinator Protection Act.  The impression that some got that there were to be emergency funds released immediately was due to the Senator's hope that emergency appropriations could be "stolen" from some agency's existing agricultural research budget.  However, the Senator realizes how difficult it would be to pry such funds out of someone else's budget this late.  He has, however, been writing letters in order to drum up such funds, and will continue to seek them.  Thank you, Senator Hastings!  This is an area in which the beekeeper's lobbyists could be exerting their influence.  Our efforts might be best directed toward them positively.

What the Senator is clear on is that the most likely way to get funding is in the new Farm Bill, even though such funding would not be forthcoming quickly.  Senator Boxer is a heavy hitter who could use as much support as we can throw her way.  I hope that you all have written your legislators!

In summary, there is little chance of getting emergency funding, although it is possible if our national organizations could wrest such funds from some existing agricultural budget.  There is far greater chance of securing long-term funding by working with our native pollinator allies, whose issues largely reflect ours.  The most important thing is for the beekeeping industry to present a unified face to Congress, and to make clear a "wish list" that we can agree upon.

I hope now that I can return to my usual interests--bee biology and mite management.  I'd rather leave this political stuff to others!  I am as frustrated as others by the difficulty in obtaining emergency funding for research.  But if we can't find that, let's support Senator Boxer's bill for long-term funding.  Let's also step outside our honeybee myopia and give our native pollinator species, and the folk that support them, the respect they deserve, and gratitude for their efforts on our behalf.

Randy Oliver
Trying to play well with others

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