Organizations with Expertise on
Desert Tortoises in California

California Turtle & Tortoise Club | Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee | Other

CALIFORNIA TURTLE AND TORTOISE CLUB

Founded in 1964, the CTTC has over 1,100 members and 14 chapters. New chapters are being formed almost yearly. The Club was organized to preserve, conserve, study, and disseminate knowledge about turtles and tortoises. Chapters and branches hold monthly meetings at which local and international experts speak on a variety of subjects. The Club also has sponsored symposia and programs of national and international significance. The various chapters and branches raise funds for educational programs, as well as local and world-wide conservation projects for turtles and tortoises. The Club was organized to preserve, conserve, study, and disseminate knowledge about turtles and tortoises. Chapters and branches hold monthly meetings at which local and international experts speak on a variety of subjects. The Club also has sponsored symposia and programs of national and international significance. The various chapters and branches raise funds for educational programs, as well as local and world-wide conservation projects for turtles and tortoises. The Club is most widely recognized for its State-sanctioned ADOPTION PROGRAM for captive desert tortoises. The ADOPTION PROGRAM is managed through a network of volunteers. Because of its efforts to protect the desert tortoise, the Club received an award from the Secretary of the Interior. The Club produces a newsletter, the Tortuga Gazette, and has an extensive website (http://www.tortoise.org).

The following information on each chapter and branch provides times and locations of meetings, names of some of the 2013 officers, and the permanent addresses.

DESERT TORTOISE PRESERVE COMMITTEE

The Committee was founded in 1974 to promote the welfare of the desert tortoise in the southwestern United States and to establish a preserve or Natural Area on the slopes of the western Rand Mountains and adjacent Fremont Valley (eastern Kern County) where the density of tortoises was the highest ever recorded. In 1991 the Committee expanded its land acquisition and stewardship efforts to other parts of the California deserts. 

The Committee has been remarkably successful in raising funds to acquire habitat, buy fencing, establish visitor facilities, and provide support for naturalists and critical monitoring projects at the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area. To achieve its goals, members work closely with the California Department of Fish and Game, the Bureau of Land Management, The Nature Conservancy, some major corporations and developers, the California Turtle and Tortoise Club, and many other groups. A long-term program for land acquisition has been established and thousands of acres of habitat have been acquired. Programs for stewardship, education, and monitoring have functioned productively for several years.

The Committee has land holdings in and adjacent to the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area, at Pilot Knob in the Central Mojave Desert, in Mojave National Preserve, and in the Chuckwalla Bench. Members and volunteers lead tours, develop brochures, maintain nature trails and fencing, and give slide programs to thousands of people annually. A newsletter, Tortoise Tracks is published quarterly.  The corporation holds annual meetings in January.

The Committee and members of its Board of Trustees have been the recipients of numerous local and national awards. For example, Congress identified the Committee as a local, grass-roots organization dedicated to preserving biodiversity. For information, write to:

Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee, Inc.
4067 Mission Inn Avenue
Riverside, California 92501
(951) 683-3872 (telephone)
(951) 683-6949 (facsimile)
Email: dtpc@pacbell.net
http://www.tortoise-tracks.org

OTHER CALIFORNIA ORGANIZATIONS

The Living Desert
Curator of Animals: Terrie Correll
47900 Portola Avenue
Palm Desert, California 92260
(760) 346-5694
http://www.livingdesert.org/

Joshua Tree Tortoise Rescue
P.O. Box 1099
Joshua Tree, CA 92252
(760) 369-1235
http://www.desertgold.com/tort/tort.html

Sacramento Turtle and Tortoise Club
President: Felice Rood
25 Starlit Circle
Sacramento, CA 95831
(916) 421-1134

San Diego Turtle and Tortoise Society
P.O. Box 519
Imperial Beach, CA 91933-0519
http://www.sdturtle.org