rather vauge list of pie in the sky initiatives. not sure what the benefit will be if beeks keep 
dumping harsh treatments into their hives and remain ignorant concerning varroa mite 
treatments. 

likewise stressful migratory practices will likely continue $$. 

lots of money chasing undefined problems but thats typical of how our government spends 
taxpayers money. 

If CCD is past history and does not reappear this fall how much money should be spent on fall 
dwindle  when we have better understood issues facing the industry?

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/07/06/MNG1VQRN6B1.DTL

(excerpt)

Penn State University researchers say the list of possible causes, on which Boxer and her 
supporters want to intensify research, includes a return of periodic infestation by mites and 
associated diseases that have hit bee colonies before, an unknown fungus, contamination from 
pesticides, poor nutrition brought on by swings in weather or a combination of all or some of 
these factors.
The U.S. Interior Department says the population loss among all pollinators could be tied to such 
other factors as continued loss of habitat to the spread of human sprawl and competition from 
such non-native species as Africanized killer bees that are spreading north from the southeastern 
United States.
In addition to more research money, federal authorities are considering other ideas for fostering 
recovery of pollinator populations. These include setting aside pesticide-free land on the 
government's vast holdings of hundreds of millions of acres, especially in the West, for colonies of 
bees and butterfly gardens.
The government has also started working with Canada and Mexico on a North American effort at 
preserving habitat and combatting invasive species.
The Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Defense 
Department and the Bureau of Land Management have signed agreements with San Francisco's 
Coevolution Institute to educate the public about the problem.
The institute, which was a driving force behind the recent first National Pollinator Week, has 
endorsed Boxer's bill, said spokesman Thomas Van Arsdall. "It's a challenging budget situation,'' 
he conceded, saying money for the pollinators will have to compete with lots of other interests 
when Congress passes its agricultural spending bill.
But he said the honeybees' plight has drawn attention to the overall issue of pollinators' decline. 
"We too often take pollinators' services for granted. They're just there. But now we're starting to 
recognize that the value of these honeybees far exceeds the value of their honey." 

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