Volume 42, Number 3

Matt Elliott (GTC Senior Co-Chair)

Dear Members,

It was great to meet so many of you at the GTC meeting at Nokuse – getting to see some folks I hadn’t seen in person since before 2020, and finally putting a face to a name for others. We are really excited to be having the meeting in Georgia this year, and are still debating the various merits of different potential sites. We hope to decide soon, but the choice will certainly provide us an opportunity to show off some of the places that the tortoise has helped us protect over the past few years. The immediate future will definitely provide some challenges as all of us continue to work with not just gopher tortoises but a whole suite of at-risk species without the tortoise’s federal candidate status as the legal keystone tying everything together. Nonetheless there are a ton of great folks working on tortoises and longleaf pine ecosystems, and every time I get to talk to y’all I feel more optimistic about the future. I look forward to speaking with you soon!

 

Keep reading for the latest news and announcements from the Gopher Tortoise Council

After two years of virtual meetings, we were thrilled to see so many GTC members in person at the 2022 Annual Meeting at the E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center at Nokuse in Freeport, FL. Keep reading for some of our favorite moments and highlights from the 2022 GTC Annual Meeting. 

 

Ally Brown (University of Georgia)

Each year, GTC awards 1-2 grants of up to $3,000 each to undergraduate and/or graduate students researching gopher tortoise biology and ecology, or other relevant aspects of upland habitat conservation and management within the range of the gopher tortoise. Ally Brown was a Landers Grant recipient in 2021. Keep reading to learn more about her research on the impacts of longleaf pine savanna restoration on snake communities in Georgia.

Ally Brown holding an Eastern kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula) at Alapaha River Wildlife Management Area (ARWMA).

Eric Sievers (Wildlands Conservation, GTC Junior Co-Chair)

Wildlands Conservation is now accepting orders for the specialty gopher tortoise license plate. In order to bring awareness to the plight of the gopher tortoise, we have created this specialty license plate and will use the generated funds for gopher tortoise habitat conservation, habitat management, education, and research. With your help, we can help protect gopher tortoises and their upland habitat!

Gopher tortoise license plate design by artist Matt Patterson.

Click to read more about the critical gopher tortoise conservation being done across the species' range in our 2022 state report summaries.

 

Head-start juvenile tortoise reared by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries staff while habitat restoration efforts are underway on private land where the tortoise was found.

Alexa Delaune and Sean Perry (Mississippi Aquarium)

Mississippi Aquarium’s resident gopher tortoise, Andreas, has a new home!

The newly-completed gopher tortoise habitat at the Mississippi Aquarium.

Edie Banner (University of South Florida)

It was all about gopher tortoises at the 10th Annual Gopher Weedon Trail Run sponsored by the Friends of Weedon Island.

A gopher tortoise statue welcomes visitors to the Weedon Island Preserve visitors center.

Dirk Stevenson (Altamaha Environmental Consulting)

Keep reading to join Dirk Stevenson on another journey to learn more about some of the lesser-known species sharing a habitat with gopher tortoises!

An adult of the undescribed solpugid (Ammotrechella sp.) from southern Georgia. Photo by Ben Stegenga.

 

Archived Newsletters

     
Summer 2020 Volume 40, Number 2 View pdf
Spring 2020 Volume 40, Number 1 View pdf
Winter 2019 Volume 39, Number 3 View pdf
Summer 2019 Volume 39, Number 2 View pdf
Spring 2019 Volume 39, Number 1 View pdf
Winter 2018 Volume 38, Number 3 View pdf
Summer 2018 Volume 38, Number 2 View pdf
Spring 2018 Volume 38, Number 1 View pdf
Winter 2017 Volume 37, Number 3 View pdf
Summer 2017 Volume 37, Number 2 View pdf
Spring 2017 Volume 37, Number 1 View pdf
Winter 2016 Volume 36, Number 3 View pdf
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Spring 2016 Volume 36, Number 1 View pdf
Winter 2015 Volume 35, Number 3 View pdf
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Winter 2014 Volume 34, Number 3 View pdf
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Winter 2013 Volume 33, Number 3 View pdf
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Winter 2012 Volume 32, Number 3 View pdf
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Winter 2011 Volume 31, Number 3 View pdf
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Winter 2010 Volume 30, Number 4 View pdf
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Summer 2009 Volume 29, Number 3 View pdf
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Summer 2008 Volume 28, Number 3 View pdf
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Summer 2007 Volume 27, Number 3 View pdf
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Winter 2007 Volume 27, Number 1 View pdf
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Spring 2006 Volume 26, Number 2 View pdf