Kristen Lear

Agave Restoration Program Director @Bat Conservation International

Loveland, CO, US

Lead Bat Conservation International’s Agave Restoration Initiative across the US Southwest and Mexico. BCI\'s Agave Restoration Initiative works at a landscape scale to protect and restore healthy, functioning ecosystems that support local livelihoods and well as biodiversity. By working with a diverse set of partners from the US and Mexico, this initiative builds strong local support in key areas that enables us to identify culturally and environmentally suitable sites and strategies for agave restoration actions. These actions are not only necessary to create resilient nectar corridors for migratory movements of nectarivorous bats, but also to support local community enterprises through investment in infrastructure (e.g. community greenhouses), business opportunities (green wildlife friendly products), and sustainable livelihoods (investment and training in best-practice sustainable agricultural and ranching techniques). This multidisciplinary approach, involving members of the business and conservation communities, allows us to set ambitious goals that reduce societal impacts on natural ecosystems, improving livelihoods and saving threatened pollinating bats from extinction.

The University of Georgia

Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Integrative Conservation

Ohio Wesleyan University

Bachelor of Arts, Zoology