Growing Returns

Selected tag(s): delisting

Raise a glass (of tequila!) to celebrate this endangered bat’s recovery

By Kjellen Belcher / Published: April 27, 2018

When the lesser long-nosed bat was first listed as an endangered species 30 years ago, there were fewer than 1,000 bats in existence. Today, the bat’s population has grown to an estimated 200,000 bats living in 75 roosts across the southwestern United States and Mexico.

A lesser long-nosed bat feeding on an Agave blossom at night in Tucson, Arizona.

The lesser long-nosed bat is one of only three nectar-feeding bat species in the U.S. – uniquely providing valuable ecosystem services through bat pollination and the dispersal of fruit seeds, including for agave plants used in tequila production.

The relationship between bats and tequila may seem obscure at first, but the bat-plant association is so strong that the disappearance of one would threaten the survival of the other.

– BATS Magazine

The lesser long-nosed bat is the first bat species to be removed from the endangered species list due to successful recovery. How the bat bounced back is not your typical conservation success story. Read More »

Posted in Wildlife Protection / Also tagged agave, ecosystems, Endangered Species Act, endangered species act success stories, lesser long-nosed bad, mexico, tequila, Tequila Interchange Project, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | Read 1 Response

A rare desert wildflower is no longer endangered, but the law that saved it may be

By Eric Holst / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: March 20, 2018

When most people think about the Endangered Species Act, they picture the bald eagle, the sea turtle or the grizzly bear. They don’t think as often about the grasses, ferns, flowers and conifers that the ESA also protects.

That makes sense when you consider that there are approximately 26 known animal species for every known plant species. But animals, including humans of course, rely heavily on plants for food, oxygen, shelter and more.

Just like animals, plants increasingly face habitat loss, pollution, disease and climate change, which threaten their existence.

There are currently 949 species of plants listed as endangered or threatened under the ESA, including several species of cactus, mint and milkweed – a vital plant for monarch butterflies. But even the more obscure and isolated plants demonstrate how closely plant resilience is tied to the health of both local and broader ecosystems. Read More »

Posted in Wildlife Protection / Also tagged biodiversity, death valley, delisted, dune grass, ecosystems, endangered species, Endangered Species Act, endangered species act success stories, endangered species act success story, eureka valley, evening primrose, national park, plants | Read 2 Responses