Francesca Claverie is the Native Plant Program Manager at the Borderlands Restoration Network. Based in the southern Arizona town of Patagonia, the Borderlands Restoration Network’s mission is “to grow a restorative economy by rebuilding healthy ecosystems, restoring habitat for plants and wildlife, and reconnecting our border communities to the land through shared learning.” Through binational partnerships and community-led innovation, Francesca and her team are making progress toward solving many border-specific conservation challenges– challenges that are often not very well known to those of us living far from the border.
We could easily spend five or six hours discussing Francesca’s various conservation projects, but for this hour-long conversation, we zoned in one particularly innovative project that spans the US-Mexico border called Bacanora for Bats: Binational Conservation and Sustainable Agave Spirits. The project is focused on conserving agave plants– plants that are a critical food source for specific migrating bat populations and are simultaneously under a great deal of pressure because of the booming tequila and Bacanora industries. As you’ll hear her explain, Francesca and her team have implemented a one-of-a-kind system that allows for continued economic prosperity from agave production, but not at the expense of the bat populations. It’s a perfect example of a community-driven, win-win conservation solution.
A little more than two years ago, the project was awarded the Salazar Center’s Connectivity Challenge prize– a $100,000 award that Francesca and her binational team have used to implement this innovative conservation solution. So we obviously talk about how those funds have been put to use and some of the successes that have resulted from the prize. We also discuss some of the unexpected opportunities and challenges that have arisen during the project, and how changing political administrations on both sides of the border have affected her work. We go into great detail about bats, the ecology of agave plants, and specific challenges that come with working across borders. Francesca also has a fascinating personal and professional trajectory, so we talk about her childhood spent on the California-Mexico border and how she decided to pursue conservation as a career. She also offers up some excellent book recommendations and some wise parting words.
I was so inspired by Francesca and her work along the border, and I believe there are lessons in this conversation that can be applied by anyone working in the conservation sector. Thanks to Francesca for taking the time to chat, and thank you for listening.
Header photo by Kayla Lewis, headshot courtesy of Francesca Claverie
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EPISODE PARTNER:
This episode is brought to you in partnership with Colorado State University’s Salazar Center for North American Conservation.
This conversation scratches the surface of some of the topics that will be covered in greater depth at the Salazar Center’s fourth annual International Symposium on Conservation Impact, which will be held next week – the week of October 3, 2022 – in Denver and online. The symposium will explore how conservation efforts that span boundaries like the US-Mexico border can drive binational cooperation as well as better outcomes for people and nature. An all-star lineup of conservation researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and funders will highlight opportunities for and barriers to conservation in the border region, climate change impacts, the role of Indigenous leadership, and learnings from the region’s distinct history and biogeography.
Listeners can learn more at salazarcenter.colostate.edu and receive $25 off symposium registration with the code “25OffReg”.
RESOURCES:
Topics Discussed:
- 4:30 – Overview of the Borderlands Restoration Network
- 9:30 – Application to the Connectivity Challenge
- 11:40 – Agave, Bats, and Pollination
- 20:40 – How the bat pollination issue came to Borderlands Restoration Network’s attention
- 27:00 – Certification program for Bacanora
- 36:20 – How the Connectivity Challenge funds have been invested
- 38:55 – Unexpected challenges and opportunities
- 41:20 – How different US administrations affect these border projects
- 47:20 – Francesca’s personal and professional background
- 53:45 – Other borderland projects that are showing great promise
- 57:30 – Favorite books
- 1:02:25 – Parting words
- 1:04:30 – Connect with the Borderlands Restoration Network
Information Referenced:
- Borderlands Restoration Network
- Salazar Center for North American Conservation
- Connectivity Challenge
- Borderlands Restoration Network Pitch Video
- Dr. Rod Pulliam
- Agave
- Lesser Long-nosed Bat
- Saguaro cactus
- Bat Conservation International
- Colectivo Sonora Silvestre
- Universidad de Sonora
- Sonoran election story
- Altar Valley
- Calexico, CA
- Sky Islands of Arizona
- Sky Island Alliance
- Watershed Management Group
- Tending the Wild by Kat Anderson
- Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
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