Honey bee apiaries on public lands and in natural areas

Some references relating to concerns about honey bees especially when apiaries are placed on public lands or in/near natural areas follow:

Commercial honeybees threaten to displace Utah’s native bees

Nick Bowlin March 7, 2019, High Country News

https://www.hcn.org/issues/51-5/public-lands-commercial-honeybees-threaten-to-displace-utahs-native-bees-pesticides/

Fighting for Flowers: Native Bee Conservation and the Dangers of Honeybee Permitting on Public Lands 

Thomas Meinzen, Grand Canyon Trust, March 2020 presentation

https://www.unps.org/miscpdf/MeinzenProtectBeesMarch2020.pdf

Will Putting Honey Bees on Public Lands Threaten Native Bees?

https://e360.yale.edu/features/will-putting-honey-bees-on-public-lands-threaten-native-bees

by Jennifer Oldhamd, September 15, 2020, Yale Environment 360 (published by the Yale School of the Environment)

Article quotations:

As suitable sites become scarce, commercial beekeepers are increasingly moving their hives to U.S. public lands. But scientists warn that the millions of introduced honey bees pose a risk to native species, outcompeting them for pollen and altering fragile plant communities.

“There are no feral honey bees in Utah — the winters are too long and cold,” Cane said. “This is essentially the most intact native bee fauna in the U.S. It’s worth protecting.”

 

Environmental groups want to block honeybees from Utah’s national forests

By Brian Maffly,  Aug. 23, 2020, Salt Lake Tribune

https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2020/08/23/environmental-groups-want/

 

Investigating Imperiled Bumble Bee Species Distributions and Habitat Associations

Oct 1, 2023  to Jan 30, 2026, USDA Research Project:

https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/project/?accnNo=445663

Bumble bees are critically important pollinators for wild plants and agricultural crop production, but are declining globally. Bumble bee population declines have been attributed to several interacting stressors, including land-use alteration and climate change. 

Project 1100 

Various articles from 2019 to 2021 including:

Why Honey Bee Apiaries Should Never Be Permitted On National Public Lands by Vincent Tepedino (2019).

https://www.projectelevenhundred.org/the-science

Xerces

An Overview of the Potential Impacts of Honey Bees to Native Bees, Plant Communities, and Ecosystems in Wild Landscapes:  Recommendations for Land Managers

https://xerces.org/sites/default/files/2018-06/16-067_02_Overview%20of%20the%20Potential%20Impacts%20of%20Honey%20Bees_web.pdf

Comment: contains many recommendations with respect to the placement of apiaries on public lands and natural areas.

Citation:

Hatfield, R. G., S. Jepsen, M.Vaughan, S. Black, E. LeeMäder. 2018. An Overview of the Potential Impacts of Honey Bees to Native Bees, Plant Communities, and Ecosystems in Wild Landscapes: Recommendations for Land Managers. 12 pp. Portland, OR: The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

Want To Save The Bees? Focus On Habitat, Not Honey Bees

By Rich Hatfield and Matthew Shepherd on 6. July 2023

https://xerces.org/blog/want-to-save-bees-focus-on-habitat-not-honey-bees

Honey Bees in North America: Why Getting a Hive Won’t “Save the Bees”

by Rich Hatfield and Matthew  Shepherd (Xerces), 2023

https://xerces.org/sites/default/files/publications/22-011.pdf

 

Why preserve the natural world?

This question is closely related to the "Why care?" question that arises when talking about why we should avoid causing plant species to become extinct.

How about this:  We exist because of plants.  The very air that we breathe is because of plants.  They sustain us and shelter us.  Yet we give them so very little respect.

A February 15, 2024 World Economic Forum report provides even more logical reasons such as:  half of the world's GDP is dependent on nature.   Yet we are likely losing species due to rapid habitat loss without even realizing it.  Kew estimates that there may be as many as 100,000 unnamed plant species over and above the roughly 400,000 that are known.

Preserving the natural world is critical to our very survival as well as our economic well-being. It should be our highest priority.  Without it, we have nothing.

Valley fever spread is a reflection of global warming

In 2021, a University of Utah Health article noted that "Valley Fever," a fungal disease more commonly associated with California and Arizona might in fact be more common in Utah than has been thought:

https://healthcare.utah.edu/press-releases/2021/09/valley-fever-more-common-utah-previously-thought-researchers-find

From the article:

"Valley Fever is caused by Coccidioides, a fungus that can infect the lungs. The fungus lives in the soil but becomes airborne when dust is disturbed, such as by construction or high winds. If people inhale that dust, they can become infected, but the disease isn't contagious from person to person."

"With climate change, temperatures are increasing," says Adrienne Carey, M.D., infectious disease specialist at U of U Health. "With increased temperatures and drier conditions, the map will change, and it should probably be expected to spread northward. Aside from a highly publicized outbreak in 2001 at Dinosaur National Monument, there really is a lack of data about how common Valley Fever is within the state of Utah."

"The team identified 364 cases of Valley Fever that occurred between 2009-2015 and met the research criteria for "proven" or "probable" Coccidioides infection."

"Interestingly, one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States, St. George, is in southwestern Utah," Carey points out. "With the rapid growth of construction that's occurring, there's increased risk for people to come in contact with the fungus."

"People who are potentially vulnerable might consider wearing masks to protect themselves from inhaling the fungus spores, particularly in dusty or windy conditions or while participating in outdoor recreation."

A more recent NBC health news article published in January of 2023 projects that the disease may present throughout the entire western US over the next 70 years.  Maps contained in the article show its current presence in Utah:

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/valley-fever-historically-found-only-southwest-spreading-can-devastati-rcna64313

This article further reinforces that Valley fever cases are on the rise and will likely continue to worsen as a result of "climate change."