The Bees have returned

The giant bee hive on the Bat wall at Broughton's bluff has returned.

that's too bad. the good news is that it's not broughton season anyway.

That's good to know. I was thinking about some after-work climbing out there this week.

I still have your ascender too Ryan-- I haven't forgottgen about it. ;)

Yeah, I called the Park Service and, after a lot of phone tag, told a guy about the hive. I was thinking about how to get rid of it until I realized that they are honey bees, which are becoming increasingly rare.

I doubt that the park service will do anything about it as the guy said they usually only destroy hornet/wasp nests and don't deal with "relocation".

Anyone know any beekeepers? I was thinking of posting something on Craig's list. It's a long shot, but I'd hate to see those bees firebombed, ya know?

You can probably find a beekeeper group online in the area.
We recently had some bees in our backyard (here in Fort Collins CO). I found the local association web-site where they had a list of keepers that would come relocate hives. I picked one at random from the list. She came for free and relocated the bees to a hive at her home. She even gave us a small jar of honey from one of her hives.

Now whether they can get to the hive easily enough is another question? If they have to climb to it you might be out of luck.

Shouldn't be a problem: the hive is only 7-8 ft off of the ground...

In light of the recent news about the decrease in bee populations around the country, perhaps we should leave the beehive alone. I mean, if falcons are endangered and certain crags are off limits for certain times of the year, why not do the same for bees? They are, after all, a barometer for the health of our environment and an integral part of our ecosystem.