Tallahassee, Fla. -- Van Morrison sang about it, Peter Fonda
starred in a movie about it, and people from all over the world
will pay top dollar just to get some of it. It's tupelo honey, a
honey so distinct, light and smooth that people describe it as
they would a fine wine. But the future of tupelo honey
production may not be so sweet. Florida State University
geography Professor J. Anthony Stallins and doctoral student
Kelly Watson are studying factors that could affect the future
of beekeeping operations in Northwest Florida - one of the only
places in the world where tupelo honey is produced commercially.
Watson has a $15,000 grant from the U.S. Community Forestry
Fellowship for Dissertation Research to work with beekeepers and
study the tupelo forests surrounding Wewahitchka, Fla. "Wewa,"
as the locals say, is a small town adjoining the Apalachicola
and Chipola rivers and serves as the unofficial capital of
tupelo honey. "We're hoping to paint a comprehensive picture of
the challenges that face the beek