DTC News
Announcing Our 48th Annual Symposium!
The Desert Tortoise Council is pleased to announce the 48th Annual Meeting and Symposium, which will be a hybrid event (both in-person and virtual attendance options) that will be held at the Dixie Center in Saint George, Utah, in February 2023. Find out more and download the Call for Papers!
New Board Meeting Minutes for 2022
The Board of Directors meets a minimum of three times per year to review, conduct, and implement Council business. Our Board meetings are open to the general Council membership.
2022 Introductory Training
For 2022 we offer a combination course with two half days of online lectures (October 28 & 29) and a full day of fieldwork (either November 4 or November 5). A fieldwork day will be available to those who completed the lecture in 2021 but were not able to attend a field day. Registration now open!
Help Collect Important Data Regarding Tortoise and Raven Observations Using the ROaDS App
Help collect data needed to monitor road mortality for desert tortoises and other Mojave Desert species, raven activity, and any observations of tortoises or their carcasses you may observe in the wild while you’re out exploring and hiking.
2022 47th Annual Symposium
The 47th Annual Desert Tortoise Council Symposium (Virtual) was held mornings in February of 2022 and, with the help of our friends at the Turtle Survival Alliance, was a great success!
12-Month Finding for the Sonoran Desert Tortoise
The US Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that federal listing under the Endangered Species Act is not warranted for the Sonoran Desert Tortoise (Gopherus morafki) at this time.
RFP: Innovations for Improvement/Restoration of Desert Tortoise Habitat
The Desert Tortoise Council announces a request for proposals (RFP) for research projects targeted at developing innovations or methods designed to improve desert tortoise habitat restoration techniques. An award of $9,000 is available for the research project.
DTC Newsletter – Volume 46, Issue 1
The Desert Balloon Project; 20 Years of Commitment to Tortoise and Turtle Conservation; The New Normal: DTC Introductory Training Programs; Recent Publications, 2019-2021; Mojave Desert Tortoise Critically Endangered; and more…
First Known Cases of RHDV-2 Found in California
Since March 2020, Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus Serotype 2 (RHDV-2) has been spreading through wild and domestic lagomorphs in the western U.S. and Mexico, causing large mortality events. RHDV2 is highly contagious and is extremely persistent in the environment.
New Publication – Mojave Desert Tortoise, Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise
A new, comprehensive account of Agassiz’s desert tortoise by Kristin H. Berry and Robert W. Murphy has been published by the Chelonian Research Foundation and Turtle Conservancy in association with the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group, Global Wildlife Conservation, Turtle Conservation Fund, and International Union for Conservation of Nature / Species Survival Commission.
Desert Tortoise Annotated Bibliography
In 2015, the Desert Tortoise Council funded a grant to the USGS to complete this very important document. The “Desert Tortoise Annotated Bibliography, 1991 – 2015” is now available!