Wildlife officials say it might be time for a toast now that a once-rare bat important to the pollination of plants used to produce tequila is making a comeback.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday proposed removing the lesser long-nosed bat from the endangered species list.
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Mexico delisted the bat in 2015, and if approved in the US, this would be the first bat ever removed from the nation's list of threatened and endangered species.
Federal officials said it has taken 30 years of conservation efforts by biologists and volunteers in Mexico and the US as well as tequila producers in Mexico to rebuild a healthy population.
There were once thought to be fewer than 1000 lesser long-nosed bats in 14 known roosts throughout the region. Now, there are about 200,000 of the nectar-feeding animals and dozens of roost sites.
The flying mammal ranges from Mexico to southern Arizona and New Mexico. It depends on the nectar of agaves, cactuses and other flowering plants in the desert region.
In Mexico, tequila producers who rely on agaves are integrating more harvest and cultivation practices in recognition that the bats are key pollinators. Some are even marketing "bat-friendly tequila".
In southern Arizona, residents for a decade have monitored night-time bat use of hummingbird feeders. This provided biologists with a clearer understanding of migration timing and allowed for the opportunity to capture bats and affix radio transmitters that aided in finding roost sites.
Federal land managers in New Mexico and Arizona, including at the US Army's Fort Huachuca, are including forage plants such as agaves, saguaros and other cactuses in their resource management plans to help the species.
Limiting human access to caves with roost sites and abandoned mines in the US also has benefited bat populations, officials say.
