Endangered Species Day

This past May we celebrated Endangered Species Day, a day that invites us to learn about the importance of endangered species and what we can do to protect them. As a conservationist, working to protect endangered species has been a cornerstone of my career. In fact, Ive spent more than 20 years lobbying Congress for the protection of the Endangered Species Act, an act that has resulted in tangible, measurable change for many of the species it was designed to protect.

Creating concrete change for endangered species remains a central tenant of what I see as effective conservation. Here at BCI, we are continuously adding to our portfolio of success, such as recently completing the largest agave restoration project in the history of the United States, which took place in Southeastern Arizona. Our conservation team has been able to identify an area of urgent need for endangered bats, and weve been able to quickly deliver change. In fact, almost every available three- to four-year-old bat-pollinated agave in the Tucson area is now in the ground where bats can feed on them. If you travel across this region, youll soon be able to see agave stands bearing the official BCI Agave Restoration sign.

Now were taking that same conservation planning and applying it elsewhere: Jamaica, Texas and, as youll see in this edition, Florida, the state with the rarest bat in Americathe Florida bonneted bat.

You are a part of this positive impact. It is through your support and investment that we are working toward a world in which no bat species goes extinct.

Mike Daulton

BCI Executive Director