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Multi-day, Virtual Symposium Planned for February 2021
The Desert Tortoise Council has teamed up with the Turtle Survival Alliance to organize and implement the virtual 46th Annual Desert Tortoise Council Symposium in February 2021. We are very fortunate to have teamed with the Turtle Survival Alliance and their experts for the event. These experts have already conducted a successful, multi-day symposium in August 2020 with 200 to 400 people in attendance each day.
The 46th Annual Symposium has a spectacular program for our participants. We have several plenary speakers, covering topics ranging from the current status of turtles and tortoises across the globe with Dr. Craig Stanford, Chair of the world-wide Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group, IUCN, to Dr. Bryan Wallace, who will evaluate successes of the major translocation project in Ivanpah Valley. Dr. Brian Todd will speak about head-starting projects as a recovery measure. Dr. Elliott Jacobson, who published two enormous books summarizing health and diseases in reptiles, will be another plenary speaker. Patrick Moldowan is an honored guest who will cover hyper-predation by corvids on turtles and tortoises world-wide. Additional honored and guest speakers will be participating, and we will share more about them later. A sample of topics covered in this year’s symposium include; identification of a novel herpesvirus, tracing the legacy of anthropogenic radionuclides from nuclear testing on desert tortoises, diet influences on survival of desert tortoises, effects of the July fires on tortoises in Utah, tortoise transportation ecology, drivers of egg production, modeling habitat characteristics, and the role of physiological stress in head-starting success. Five students will be giving presentations. More details will be forthcoming.
Please join the Desert Tortoise Council for the 46th Annual Desert Tortoise Council Symposium, which will occur on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, beginning February 9, continuing on February 11, 16, 18, and 23, and concluding on February 25. In addition to the sessions, the Symposium will include the annual photo contest and the raffle.
Annual Business Meeting
The Annual Business Meeting of the Desert Tortoise Council will be held prior to the Annual Symposium. The Annual Business Meeting will include a report from the Chair of the Board of Directors, reports from committee chairs, and officer elections.
Sponsorship
Please consider sponsoring the annual Symposium of the Desert Tortoise Council. This one-time donation will go directly to defraying the costs of the 46th Annual Symposium. For additional information on sponsorship levels and to download the sponsorship form, please click the button below.
Thank you for your support!
Photo Contest
The Desert Tortoise Council is pleased to announce the 2021 Photo Contest to be held as part of our virtual symposium to be held on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8:30 – 12:30 Pacific Time. 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.
Symposium Raffle
The 2021 Symposium will include a raffle that serves 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 and raffle tickets can be purchased during the Symposium registration process. Raffle prizes will include E-Gift Cards for field equipment and other items and raffle winners will be drawn multiple times during each day of the virtual symposium.
Past Proceedings & Abstracts
The 45th Annual Desert Tortoise Council Symposium took place Feb 20-23, 2020 in Las Vegas, NV and was a great success. Click below to download the symposium abstracts.