Hi Steve, 

Good to hear from you and thank you for replying.

> > I have been trying to get the SABA members and other beekeepers who only have bees for harvesting honey in the summer.
> > 
> association are misleading to the readers on this list and paint Alaskan
> beekeepers with a very broad brush.
>

Sorry, if you misunderstood here on this but the quote from me that I was painting the broad brush on was "SABA members and other beekeepers who only have bees for harvesting honey in the summer". If you could keep this quote and part of the sentence in the context of the sentence, I was referring to those beekeepers up here who killing their bees in the fall intentionally and only keep them for the harvest of honey without the regard of the bees life and respect of the bees life. I was not referring to members of SABA and other beekeepers who keep bees with respect and are working their bees with the good and righteous intentions of keeping them year round as the term beekeeping would imply. I know there are many members who are keeping bees this way and also not with any set method. This is good but there are those who are killing bees that just may provide material for improving genetics and winter-ability of a stock of bees in our great state of Alaska. If I can keep bees through winter up here with no wrap and no feeding sugar syrup then I know anyone with the true desire to keep bees up here can also do it wrapping and feeding if done with certain criteria in mind. There is no one way to keep bees and I never said that there is.

> Members of our association up here
> are varied in their experience as well as their methods of beekeeping.
> Many of us do keep bees through the winter, contrary to your
> implications.

This I am very aware of. That is the same everywhere you go in the world where bees are kept. The only real difference is up here it is TAUGHT that it is OK to not winter if one does not want to and in nearly (not everywhere) anyplace else in the world beekeepers would not even think of killing bees or else they would not be keeping bees. My implications are that there are so called beekeepers up here that are killing their bees when in reality they should be TAUGHT, as I am doing with many beekeepers up here, that bees should be kept up here regardless of experience. By the way, this is how a new beekeeper would learn and gain experience to winter, by being taught to do so. I get many beekeepers contacting me to learn how to keep bees, and for those who inquire as to how to kill bees I tell them I am not teaching how to kill bees and do not speak of these methods. It is the implication of beekeepers thinking it is OK to kill bees that is wrong. My so called implications are only affecting those who are guilty of killing their bees intentionally without benefit to improving methods and stock. Anyone up here that are keeping bees understand the implications of killing bees.

> As with any group of people with a common interest the
> purpose of the organization is to provide support, education, and
> companionship. 
>

Well this was not the mission statement I remember but this is good if the support is for KEEPING bees, education for KEEPING bees and companionship to those who are KEEPING bees. When these attributes are implicated to support killing bees and people are educated it is OK to kill bees, and their is companionship with those killing bees, this hurts me and sickens me as a keeper of bees. It hurts me because bees deserve a better life than only a life for one that only wants the honey and does not think it necessary to do the work to keep the poor bees alive. If it is a personal choice, killing them to me is a poor choice for the bees sake.

> To dictate ones point of view to others as to the one
> proper method to do anything only serves to offend and alienate folks.
>

I never said or implied that there is only one proper method to keep bees. I may have expressed that I think it is wrong to kill bees because this is not keeping them. Like I tell a lot of beekeepers up here that want to learn to keep bees "I do not care how you keep bees as long as you do". I have lots of friends in beekeeping up here including some members of SABA and we exchange our knowledge and experience in beekeeping so we may improve our individual methods. There is no one set way to keep bees as there is also no one set method of killing them, but keeping bees is different than killing them. If advocating keeping bees is alienating folks, I would think it is those folks who think it is OK to kill bees. Also if it alienates folks to teach them that it is not OK to kill bees then there is probably no hope in reaching these type folk anyway and they are not my concern. I am teaching beekeeping and reaching out to those who want to learn methods of keeping bees not killing them. On the other hand I do have lots to teach those folks and beekeepers who think bees can not be kept up here. Where they got that mind set is anyone's guess, I would think they either heard it some place or was taught it by someone, go figure. This has a bad implication to the public and new beekeepers. In my opinion I am not alienating anyone up here who wants to learn to keep bees.

So Steve, do you think we as beekeepers should embrace the idea that it is OK to kill bees and that teaching methods of not wintering is OK? I certainly do not embrace this concept or idea and will not teach it period. In my opinion, the leaders of beekeepers should be teaching and encouraging how to keep bees not the opposite. To teach anything else is ludicrous and failing to lead those who want to learn how to keep bees.

I think that killing bees should not even be an option and that teaching that it is OK to do so is counter productive to the mission of support, education, and companionship concerning keeping bees. This is not one method but one concept, that of keeping bees period. Many new beekeepers give up trying to winter because there is not enough support or education. 

> The subject of keeping bees year round has been the topic of many
> discussions.
>

This is GREAT, I will come to discuss my methods and progress just about anytime with enough advanced notice. I am always willing to discuss keeping bees year round. I might be able to give some insight on this subject, I do have a passion in keeping bees year round with my main focus at this time being wintering bees and breeding from the best of the wintered bees. Please do not let my alienation keep those who wish to learn wintering and breeding methods from learning the many ways to accomplish this. We do need to start concerting an effort in this direction. Soon I am going to visit the Peninsula beekeepers to discuss this subject in the near future. Winter is an excellent time of year for learning, lets learn.

> Small hive beetle has also been the topic of several newsletters,
> meetings, and is included in our annual beekeeping classes.
>

The only way to keep them out is to slow down the importing of package bees or eliminate them all together, once we have them it will be to late to have come up with a better solution to keep them out. The best way to slow down the importing is to start keeping bees over winter. To do this proper wintering methods need taught and breeding a hardy stock needs implicated and executed.

> Members are
> aware of this pest and are not quite as sleepy as you would have folks
> think.
> 

If they are not ready to do what is necessary to slow this pest from entering our state then in my opinion they are not wide awake yet. Beekeepers need to be taught to winter bees and that it is not OK to kill them but instead best to winter them and improve our bee stock for wintering. 

It can be done and the more involved the faster it will become a reality. We can not support and stand to be wasting resources for improvements when killing bees that may hold the genetics for a quicker solution. Mites are one thing and SHB, well we just do not need it here. So lets work towards stopping its movement into our state.

Steve, we should be working together not apart, lets get on the same page. So far you have got me misunderstood by your own admission. We need to start keeping bees as a community of beekeepers and not killing them period, this has nothing to do with methods of keeping bees. If bees are being killed this is not keeping bees. This is the page we need to be on, beekeeping!!!. No alienation intended but a coming together instead for the sake of beekeeping and for the sake of the bees up here in Alaska. How else can this be understood?

For the love of honey bees,

 . ..   Keith Malone, Chugiak, Alaska USA, http://www.cer.org/,
c(((([ , Apiarian, http://takeoff.to/alaskahoney/,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/akbeekeepers/ ,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Norlandbeekeepers/ ,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ApiarianBreedersGuild/

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