Join The Desert Tortoise Council

The Desert Tortoise

The desert tortoise is native to the Sonoran, Colorado, and Mojave Desert of the southwestern United States and Mexico. It is a long-lived reptile, as important to its desert environment as its own environment is to it. Many animals and plants in desert communities owe parts of their lives to the desert tortoise and its burrows. Though the tortoise adapted well over the millennia to the demanding desert environment, it can't cope with many of the changes man has wrought on the southwestern deserts in the last several decades.

The Mojave desert tortoise is now a federal threatened species. The Sonoran desert tortoise is a species of very special concern. This is where the Council comes in, and this is where you can help.

What You Can Do

Learn more about the desert tortoise. Get involved in desert conservation issues. Get informed. Make your voice heard...the tortoise can't speak for itself. Adopt an area. Join a local conservation group. Join the Desert Tortoise Council.

Our Goal

To ensure the survival of viable populations of the desert tortoise throughout its range.

Our Objectives

The objectives of the Desert Tortoise Council are:

• To serve in a professional advisory manner, by participating in matters involving management, conservation, and protection of the desert.

• To promote measures and take actions that will ensure the survival of the desert tortoise and the maintenance of its habitat.

• To stimulate and encourage research in sciences related to the conservation and management of the desert tortoise and the ecosystem on which it depends.

• To gather and disseminate information on the desert tortoise and its habitat.

• To maintain an active public information and conservation education program.

• To commend outstanding action and dedication by individuals and organizations promoting the objectives of the Council.