Registration is now open, and we are accepting abstracts for oral and poster presentations for the 46th Annual Gopher Tortoise Council Meeting.

Meeting Location:

This year’s meeting will be held at the Continuing Education and Conference Center (CEC) at Eckerd College, 4200 54th Ave S, St. Petersburg, FL 33711 in St. Petersburg, FL from November 15–17, 2024. Stay tuned for parking directions.

Registration:

Early-bird registration discounts are available until October 18th. Click HERE to Register. Detailed Agenda Coming Soon!

Registration costs include attendance at two days of presentations, on-site refreshment breaks, and Friday night social dinner at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve Visitor Center (dinner with vegan option available) + beer/wine (2 drink tickets). See field trip details below.

Boxed lunches available for purchase. Enjoy a view of the bay at Eckerd College’s beautiful campus.

Saturday, November 16th Awards Dinner at Tampa Bay Watch, $30.00 each. Don’t forget to purchase an extra ticket if you are bringing a guest – includes dinner and drinks.

Sunday, November 17th optional Field Trips: to Boyd Hill Nature Preserve (free) or Ferry Ride to Egmont Key ($18)

T-Shirts: 

T-shirts for the upcoming annual meeting are now available. Click HERE to choose from lots of great colors and styles.

 

Lodging:

Blocks of rooms have been reserved at the following locations:

 The Beachcomber - 5.2 miles

  • 6200 Gulf Blvd, St Pete Beach, FL 33706
  • Use Grope Code #26474 when booking.
  • Book online.

Holiday Inn St. Petersburg West - 6.1 miles

  • 1200 34th St N, St. Petersburg, FL 33713
  • Use Group Code GTC when booking.
  • Book online or by calling the hotel 727-322-0770 or IHG central reservations at 1-888-211-9874.

Terry Tomalin Campground at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve - 3.4 miles

  • 2910 31st St S, St. Petersburg, FL 33712
  • 6 cabins, 18 campsites, and a group campsite
  • Book online.
  • For Thursday, November 14th campground reservations, email Kimani Flemming (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) after booking campground reservations for the weekend. 
  • Campground rules and additional information.

 Our room blocks for this event will likely fill up quickly, so reserve your room early!

Sponsors

Please consider sponsoring the annual meeting of the Gopher Tortoise Council. These one-time donations go directly to defraying the costs of the annual meeting, meaning more of our organization’s resources can fund gopher tortoise conservation, research, and education.

Call for Abstracts: 

The deadline for submitting abstracts is October 18, 2024. 

In addition to presentations about gopher tortoise biology, we welcome presentations on:

  • commensals and other species associated with tortoises and southeastern upland habitats
  • general ecology of upland pine ecosystems
  • habitat management and restoration
  • conservation initiatives
  • policy, regulation, or economics
  • monitoring and field techniques
  • Successful and creative partnerships conserving Gopher Tortoises, habitat, or associated species

Abstracts should be 300 words or less and conform to the exact style of the Journal of Wildlife Management abstract format (see sample abstract HERE). The name, affiliation, address, and email of the corresponding author should be provided with the abstract. Please indicate if you wish to present an oral or poster presentation. Depending on the number of oral presentations received you may be asked to submit a poster. Abstracts must be submitted in MS Word (.doc or .docx format). Please submit abstracts via e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Full-length presentations will be strictly limited to 15 minutes, including 3 minutes for questions. An LCD projector will be provided. Overheads and 35 mm slides are not acceptable. Posters should be no larger than 48” x 36.”

Additional information and instructions for students:

  • The first 20 students who submit an abstract and give a poster or talk at the 2024 annual meeting will each receive a $200 Travel Grant. See here for details: https://gophertortoisecouncil.org/grant-programs/32-bob-herrington-student-travel-grant
  • Presentation Awards are given for the top three student oral presentations. See here: https://gophertortoisecouncil.org/awards/52-annual-meeting-student-award
  • To be considered for these opportunities, 1) indicate clearly if you are an undergraduate or graduate student; 2) specify your institutional affiliation; and 3) copy the Chair of the Student Awards Committee, Betsie Rothermel (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) on your abstract submission.

 Live and Silent Action:

Both live and silent auctions will take place at this year’s meeting so bring your best items to contribute! Our auctions at the annual meeting support GTC’s grant programs. Please consider donating auction items at the meeting to raise money for environmental education, student research, and gopher tortoise day funding!  

Questions?

For more information contact Eric Sievers, GTC Co-chair and host for this year’s meeting (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). Hope to see you all in November!

 More information can be found on our website at: https://gophertortoisecouncil.org/annual-meeting 

 

2023 Annual Meeting Highlights

Meeting was held at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center in Tifton, Georgia from November 17-19th, 2023.

 Agenda:  Click HERE to view the complete meeting agenda.