25th Annual Meeting and Symposium of the
Desert Tortoise Council, April 21-24, 2000
Abstracts

The Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee: A Quarter Century of Progress

Michael J. Connor
Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee, 4067 Mission Inn Ave, Riverside, CA 92501

Since 1974, the nonprofit Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee has been driven by its mission to protect the welfare of the desert tortoise in its native wild state. Starting from a small group of volunteers working to build and protect a preserve in the Fremont Valley-Rand Mountain area, the Committee has developed into a highly effective force for the conservation of the tortoise and associated species throughout the West Mojave Desert. Examples of the Committee's many accomplishments from the last twenty-five years that have significantly benefited tortoise conservation include: development of creative strategies to acquire significant numbers of privately held small land parcels within the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area; implementation of fencing mitigation commitments along Harper Lake Road; long-term protective management and recovery at the Pilot Knob grazing allotment; and the development and use of innovative educational programs. The Committee's success in meeting these challenges reflects its relative freedom from bureaucratic and political constraints; its flexibility to adaptively manage to make the most of opportunities that arise; and its ability to complement the work of state and federal government agencies to further its mission.