The Desert Tortoise Council is excited to announce the 51st Annual Meeting and Symposium, which will be a hybrid event (both in-person and virtual attendance options) that will be held at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, from February 25-27, 2026. A field trip is scheduled the day before the meeting on February 24. The Symposium will include a plenary address, invited and featured speakers, and contributed papers and posters. The program will be exciting, challenging, and full of new information! We are fortunate in 2026 to be located close to the four state boundaries and a backdrop of many ongoing research projects. Watch this page for continued details on the hotel and registration. We will share more details about plenary speakers and the program in early January. The program will be posted on the website 30 days prior to the Symposium.
Hotel
More details to follow!
Pre-Conference Mixer
This event is the perfect way to kick off the Symposium. The pre-conference mixer will be held at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino on the 2nd floor near the Grand Ballroom (find the escalator near Wing-Stop) on Tuesday evening, February 24, 2026, from 6-9pm. Please plan to attend as it is a great time to reconnect with friends, to network with new contacts. Consider being a co-sponsor!
Annual Business Meeting
The Annual Business Meeting of the Desert Tortoise Council will be held in a hybrid format (i.e., in person and virtually) in conjunction with the 51st Annual Desert Tortoise Council Symposium. The business meeting will be held at 8:00 AM on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada.
More details to follow!
51st Symposium Sponsors
Please consider sponsoring the annual Symposium of the Desert Tortoise Council. These one-time donations go directly to defraying the costs of the Annual Symposium.
More details to follow!
Annual Field Trip – February 24, 2026
More details to follow!
Annual Photo Contest
Each year we encourage our membership to submit their best wildlife and nature photographs for a chance to win cash prizes, as well as to aid the Desert Tortoise Council in educating the public and advocating desert conservation through photography.
More details to follow!
ONLY digital submissions will be accepted and the absolute deadline is 5PM PST Friday February 20, 2026. No late entries will be accepted!
Symposium Raffle & Auction
The symposium will include various types of raffles and an auction as a fundraiser so the Council can continue to expand its conservation efforts for the tortoise. The raffle is only open to those who register for the Symposium. With the hybrid nature of the 2026 symposium, the Council will be holding both in-person and online raffles during the symposium, so all registrants can have the opportunity to win great prizes. Raffle tickets for in-person registrants can be purchased at the Symposium venue. For virtual participants, a link to purchase raffle tickets for E-Gift card prizes will be provided.
More details to follow!
Health & Wellness Protocol
The Desert Tortoise Council would like to ensure that all persons attending the Symposium “in person” are safe and well by implementing the following protocol when you are in the Palace Station Convention space.
- If you feel ill, have recently tested positive for Covid, or have symptom(s) of Covid, influenza, RSV infection, or another infectious disease, please do not attend the symposium in person and please follow the CDC COVID isolation procedures until you are no longer infectious. If you are unable to attend the symposium because you test positive, you can switch between in-person and virtual participation. If you are unable to attend virtually, cancel your registration and request a refund of the registration fee.
- For the safety of all attendees, please wear a mask (preferable KN95) and when possible, practice social distancing. The exception to wearing a mask would be when presenting your talk, eating, or drinking. The Council will have masks and hand sanitizer available.