Volume 43, Number 3

Eric Sievers (GTC Senior Co-Chair)

Dear burrowers,

The 45th Annual GTC Meeting was recently held in Tifton, Georgia, and it was great to see so many tortoise conservation champions in one place, about 115 of us! We enjoyed a keynote address from Dr. Lora Smith, Scientist at the Jones Center at Ichauway, highlighting a career of research on tortoises, as well as an early photo of a young and stylish Lora wearing Tony the Tiger sunglasses. Lora challenged the Council to re-evaluate our organization’s goals to include habitat protection and management, with special consideration for the isolated wetlands embedded in the upland ecosystems that the gopher tortoise calls home. A special session on gopher tortoise translocation was held on Saturday. This session served as an informative primer to an urgent need to evaluate translocation outcomes and inform translocation practices (look for more on this topic from GTC in subsequent newsletters). The meeting wrapped up on a cool and sunny Sunday morning with two field trip options to Alapaha River Wildlife Management Area and Doerun Pitcher Plant Bog.

 I left the meeting feeling re-invigorated about gopher tortoise conservation and I hope you did too! Let’s all give an enormous thank you to Matt Elliot and his team, who hosted a fantastic meeting. As the new GTC Senior Co-Chair, I’m excited to host the 2024 annual meeting in central Florida. We are hoping for increased participation from students so start recruiting, motivating, and encouraging now!

Finally, a much-deserved round of applause to our outgoing ex officio Co-Chair Becca Cozad, as well as a hearty welcome to our incoming Junior Co-Chair, Kim Sash of Tall Timbers. 

Keep an eye out for a save the date announcement for the location of next year’s GTC meeting. Happy holidays to you and your families! 

Cheers,
Eric Sievers

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

Gopher Tortoise Council recently submitted comments regarding the proposed release of Conservation Easements over Split Oak Wildlife and Environmental Area in Orange and  Osceola Counties, Florida.

Keep reading for our favorite highlights from the 2023 GTC Annual Meeting.

Participants at the 2023 GTC Annual Meeting. Photo by Jen Howze.

Effects of New Land Management Regimes on Florida Scrub lizard Communities, Michael Brennan (Georgia Southern University)

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. Michael Brennan was a Landers Grant recipient in 2022. Keep reading to learn more about his research on Florida scrub lizards in peninsular Florida.

Michael Brennan conducting an encounter survey in an early successional Florida scrub habitat managed for Florida scrub jays (Photo by David Tevs)

Click to read more about the critical gopher tortoise conservation being done across the species' range in our 2023 state report summaries.

Juvenile eastern hog-nosed snake found on a recently burned tract during gopher tortoise surveys in Louisiana. Photo by Keri Lejeune.

Dirk Stevenson (Altamaha Environmental Consulting)

Keep reading to join Dirk Stevenson on a series of encounters with the eastern diamondback rattlesnake.

A stealthy hunterꟷ the root a likely mammal runway ꟷ found in a bay swamp, close to mud salamanders and cottonmouths. All photos in this article by Dirk Stevenson.

The Education and Outreach Committee leadership for 2023 would like to thank everyone that participated in educating the public about Gopher Tortoises and their habitat throughout the range.  Education and Outreach activities included distributing materials and engaging with the public at various events. We also responded to inquiries about specific issues that GTC members and/or the public have called to our attention. 

Some recently published articles about gopher tortoises, their commensals, and upland communities in the southeast. Check out GTC's Education & Outreach page for more literature, including snake and tortoise bibliographies.

Archived Newsletters

     
Summer 2020 Volume 40, Number 2 View pdf
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