BORDERLANDS WILDLIFE PRESERVE
Agaves for Bats
The Sky Islands is considered an important area in need of conservation to protect pollinator populations, including the Lesser long-nosed bat that was taken off the Endangered Species list, despite its nectar source continuing to be threatened.
Agave is an important bat food source in this grassland region that faces threats such as climate change, land development, and wild harvest of agaves for Bacanora production.
Borderlands Restoration Network is working on several aspects of agave conservation through partnerships with multiple organizations and volunteers.
Flowering agave stalk at the Borderlands Wildlife Preserve.
Project Description:
BRN collaborates with Bat Conservation International (BCI) and the agaves for bats project which supports on the ground restoration of regionally sourced agaves from seeds in the southwest U.S. and northern Mexico.
Borderlands Nursery & Seed (BN&S) actively collects seed and propagates thousands of agaves for restoration. The current contract with BCI is producing 2,000 Agave palmeri’s for restoration in southern Arizona in partnership with various private and public land managers. To date, BN&S has planted 3,774, and counting, agaves across the borderlands with 1,350 located at the BWP.
Questions about this project?
Contact the BRN Native Plant Program at horticulture@borderlandsrestoration.org.
Planting agaves at the preserve.