Please be prepared to use Zoom for the lectures, and be sure you login with your full name and stay logged in during the entire session. Be sure you have a good internet connection and use a computer, not a phone or tablet. Chrome and Microsoft Edge are excellent. Safari and Firefox are usually OK. Do not use Internet Explorer. Download the free Zoom app ahead of time. By registering you agree not to share your course access code with anyone else. Be prepared to remain online for the entire program, we will be checking.

Field Workshop – Ridgecrest, CA

Friday Nov 1 from 8:30 AM – 5 PM PDT
OR
Saturday Nov 2 from 8:30 AM – 5 PM PDT

Duplicate registrations will be cancelled.

Prerequisites: Attendance of the online lecture course and the online quiz.

The morning demonstrations will cover identification of sign of desert tortoise and other desert species, and types and construction of tortoise-proof fencing. There will be a brief lunch break on site. The first afternoon demonstration will be how to process a desert tortoise. The final activity will be to walk a 1-kilometer transect, learning how to detect and record tortoises and sign. We hope for interactive sessions with many questions.

This workshop will be held in the field, outdoors only. Additional protocols will be considered if CDC or California requires them.

You will need:

• to be well. Anyone arriving and showing signs of illness will be required to leave the workshop and their fees will be forfeited. Vaccinations are strongly advised but we will not be checking COVID vaccination status.
• appropriate clothing for outdoor work and for walking transects. The weather is unpredictable in early November and could be hot and dry or cold, windy, and rainy. We recommend layers.
• sturdy shoes or hiking boots, a hat, and sunscreen.
• your own water bottle, snacks, and a sack lunch.
• the map to the site, and all of the other handouts and data sheets that will be sent to you as pdf files prior to the workshop. Please print them out and bring them.
• a clipboard, pencil and pen.
• to complete an online course evaluation prior to receiving certification by US Mail.
• to arrange for lodging and meals — Ridgecrest has many inexpensive motels and restaurants.

Cost & Registration

Registration opens July 1, 2024. Please read all descriptions carefully.

The cost of the full course is $300 or $200 for students or for active organization members (2 per organization) for early registration until September 1. After that the fees will be $400 ($250 for students and 2 organization members). There is an audit only option for the lectures for $25.

Each individual must register separately, do not have anyone register for you.

Students must send proof of current school enrollment to the email address below.

Organization members must indicate the name of the active DTC organization member under “Association”.

You can arrange payment by a payer other than yourself by entering that person’s email in the “Payer Email” field, in the registration form. You must then notify us at email hidden; JavaScript is required so we can forward the invoice to the payer. You may also request, via email, to have your paid position reassigned to another person within your company or agency.

If you would like to pay by check, you can click the “Invoice Me” button, at the end of the online registration process, print the invoice, and mail a check payable to Desert Tortoise Council (with “Intro Course” on the memo line) to:

Desert Tortoise Council
3807 Sierra Highway #6-4514
Acton, CA 93510.

You must register and pay the invoice (this is a 2-step process) in order to be fully registered. Unpaid invoices will forfeit their place in the field workshop if it fills. Registration alone does not commit you to a payment.

Materials and instructions for the lecture and the field workshop, and the link to join the lecture course, will be sent by email prior to the start of the course. Please be sure we have your correct, personal email to use.

For your registration you will receive:

• Access to the entire lecture course and a field workshop.
• Certification of participation as soon as you complete the post course evaluation online.
• Access to recordings of the course, online and read only after the entire course is over.
• Email access to course presenters for additional questions.
• Copies of pdf files listing permitting agencies and appropriate references to tortoise biology and conservation.

Cancellation Policy

Paid registrants may cancel and request refunds:

• until September 1 for a full refund, less a $10 handing fee.
• until October 15 for a 50% refund.
• after October 15 for a full refund only if you become ill. Please email your request immediately so that we will be able to bring people from the wait list into the workshop.
• If you arrive for the field session and you appear to be ill, you will have to leave the workshop and your fees will be forfeit.
• Full refunds will be given should the course be cancelled.

Email email hidden; JavaScript is required to request a cancellation and refund.