Eric Sievers (GTC Senior Co-Chair)

Dear burrowers,

The annual meeting is almost upon us! As cooler temperatures are on the horizon, I look forward to seeing you all soon. The meeting is being held at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL, from November 15–17, and early-bird registration is now open and abstracts are being accepted.

We’ll have two full days of presentations, a Friday night social at the Boyd Hill Nature Center, a Saturday awards banquet at Tampa Bay Watch, and two field trip options: one at Boyd Hill and another out to Egmont Key. This year there will be a special session on the disease ecology of gopher tortoises and their commensals, as well as an increase in the number and amount of student travel grants.

This year’s meeting logo was created by the extremely talented Kelly Quinn of https://kellyofthewild.com/. T-shirt information to come shortly.

Additional annual meeting details, such as abstract submission instructions, lodging options, and sponsorship information can be found at https://gophertortoisecouncil.org/annual-meeting.

In addition to annual meeting planning, our conservation committee has been hard at work on issues like the plan to develop Florida State Parks into pickleball courts and golf courses, as well as a recently proposed Withlacoochee State Forest land swap with a golf course. We are working hard to protect tortoises and their habitat!

See you all soon!