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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.

View Our Latest Board Meeting Minutes

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 for the full course with workshop will begin August 1.

Find Out More

2022 47th Annual Symposium (Viritual)

The 47th Annual Desert Tortoise Council Symposium (Virtual) will be held mornings on Tuesdays and Thursdays, February 15, 17, 22, and 24, and afternoons on Friday the 18th and 25th, 2022. Registration now open!

Find Out More & Register

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.

Read the Proposed Rule at federalregister.gov

Request for Proposals

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.

Find Out More

DTC Newsletter – Volume 46, Issue 1

Features

  • 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
Download the Newsletter Browse the Newsletter Archive
DTC Newsletter Vol 46, Issue 1

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.

In early May, an unusual number of dead lagomorphs were reported on a site in the Coachella Valley in Riverside County. At the request of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), a specimen was transported to a lab for necropsy the death was attributed to RHDV-2. Ultimately over fifty dead lagomorphs were found in the area over the course of just a few weeks and in the weeks since, cases have also been reported in San Diego, Orange, and San Bernardino counties.

CDFW, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are working to limit transmission and have published guidance.

Covid-19 Updates

Due to Covid-19, the Desert Tortoise Council will not hold public gatherings until public health authorities can confidently approve them. We will plan to substitute our onsite events with virtual meetings. Please see information on the November Introductory Course and the Annual Symposium for specifics.

2020 Symposium Abstracts

The 2020 Annual Symposium in Las Vegas was a success!

View Abstracts from the Presentations

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.

View/Download | More in Our Library

Conservation Organizations Gathered to Discuss Enhanced Wildlife Protections in the U.S.-Mexico Border States

Last month, some 40 wildlife conservation leaders and specialists representing 22 American and Mexican non-governmental organizations were gathered during the 44th Annual Symposium of the Desert Tortoise Council in Tucson, Arizona to celebrate recent successes and accelerate protection of transboundary wildlife corridors, with a focus on supporting private lands conservation on the U.S.-Mexico border states.

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Desert Tortoise Annotated Bibliography

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has just released the “Desert Tortoise Annotated Bibliography, 1991 – 2015”, prepared by Dr. Kristin H. Berry and her team.  The Desert Tortoise Council funded a grant to the USGS to complete this very important document.

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Call for DTC Archival Materials 1975-2013

The DTC is very interested in gathering all available hard copy materials that will help us accurately represent the rich history of the Desert Tortoise Council. We are particularly interested in hearing from past board members and officers, and respectfully seek folders and boxes full of archival materials.

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Conserving America’s National Parks

This newly-published book by Dr. Scott Abella. Conserving America’s National Parks shares the status of conservation challenges and successes in America’s 408 national parks. The book includes discussions of interactions of the desert tortoise with non-native plants and fire, plus renewable energy, in addition to the overall focus of the book on conserving key habitats.

Read More

Recent Awards

Visit our Awards page to view the list of recipients of awards at the 2018 Annual Symposium in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Job Announcements

View the latest Desert Tortoise related job opportunities. If your organization is hiring and you would like to provide a link to the position announcement on the Desert Tortoise Council website, please contact our webmaster.

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New Publication!

A new, comprehensive account of Agassiz’s desert tortoise by Kristin H. Berry and Robert W. Murphy is now available.

View/Download

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100-105 exam 200-125 exam questions 200-105 exam dumps

Annual Symposium Info

The Desert Tortoise Council teamed up with the Turtle Survival Alliance to organize and implement our 47th Annual Desert Tortoise Council Symposium (Virtual).  The symposium was held in February of 2022 and was a great success.

Find Out More

New Publication

Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles & Tortoises — A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group

View/Download

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