Vast Pesticide-Free Bee Refuges Envisioned

A House Bee Recovery Bill Would Spend $86 M On Research Wildlife refuges have been delineated for the likes of buffalo and wolves. Imagine hundreds of millions of acres of federal land set aside for bees and butterflies. The headline grabbing portion of the bills being mulled by Congress to remedy the mysterious decline in honeybees has been the price tag -- $86 million over five years in the House version. But tucked into that bill is another provision which isn't measured in dollars, but the scope of which is -- in a sense -- even larger. Portions of the federal government's vast land holdings in the West could be designated pesticide-free in an effort to allow pollinating species like bees a safe haven. Certainly, with as many as one in four bees having been lost to so-called colony collapse disorder, and no clear indication what is causing the decline, the attention of scientists should be focused on the problem. And ensuring that some wild lands accommodate native bees and the more-familiar domesticized European honeybee has merit, given that colony collapse disorder is only the latest sign that the pollinating species responsible for fertilizing so much of our food supply are in trouble. The new American West: One big bee garden. The Daily Green Saves The Bees A special report with stories, tips, recipes and your photos Stories And Tips Famous Einstein Bee Quote Is Bogus Beekeeping Timeline: Colony Collapse Disorder Is Latest Episode In A Tumultuous History Five Ways To Bolster The Bees Buzzworthy Plants That Attract Bees What Is Colony Collapse Disorder? Health Benefits of Local Honey Recipes Lemon Beehive Cake Fresh Herbal Tea Honey-Glazed Grilled Plums Baked Honey-Mustard Chicken And Vegetables Baked Honey-Lime Drumsticks Your Photos Photos from The Daily Green audience in our Worth Preserving photoblog Bumble Bee And Columbine Time For Lunch Bee On The Go Bumblebee The Beekeeper The Daily Green blog by Kim Flottum, editor of Bee Culture magazine Colony Collapse Disorder -- The Facts -- May 8 Do Bees Matter? Well, Only If you Think Food Matters -- May 11 Scientists Study New Pesticide In Bee Death Investigation -- May 15 One Expert's Long View: There Is No Bee Crisis -- May 17 A Novel Idea For the Yard: Leave It Alone -- May 21 To Understand Colony Collapse Disorder, Start With A Census - Part I - May 29 To Understand Colony Collapse Disorder, Start With A Census - Part II - May 29 The Many -- And I Mean Many -- Suspects Of CCD - June 4 Summer Brings Good Health To The Hives - June 12 Colony Disorder Caused 45 % Of Bee Losses -- June 18 More Bee-Related Posts From Our Bloggers Leslie Land: Wild Bees Pollinate The Best Strawberries Starre Vartan: Bee Motif Has Deep Roots in Fashion

COMMENTS ()