POWDERMILL IV Welcome to the website for the ultimate freshwater turtle conference

Powdermill IV was held in Laughlin, Nevada from Aug 13-16, 1999. Over 60 of the finest freshwater turtle researchers on the planet were invited to participate in this important forum and last major turtle conference of the millenium. The meeting was organized by Drs. Vinny Burke, Jeff Lovich and Dawn Wilson.

History of Powdermill
Powdermill had its roots in a meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists in Williamsburg, Virginia in 1975 when a group of herpetologists with a serious research interest in freshwater turtles got together. The first "official" Powdermill was held in 1980 at the Powdermill Biological Station of The Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pennsylvania, hence the name of the conference. The meeting was hosted by Dr. C. Jack McCoy (deceased), former curator of the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles. The next Powdermill was hosted by Dr. Dick Vogt at Los Tuxlas near Veracruz, Mexico in 1986. Powdermill III (1991) was hosted by Drs. Whit Gibbons and Justin Congdon of the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory of the University of Georgia at Camp Long in South Carolina. Powdermill V is scheduled for 2002 in Manaus, Brazil (by invitation only).

The "spirit" of Powdermill
Powdermill has always been a forum for relaxed, yet serious, interaction among those conducting scientific research on freshwater turtles. Although numerous symposia focusing on turtles have been held, Powdermill is the original!

Conservation statement issued by Powdermill IV Program for Powdermill IV (Powdermill is an "abstract-free" zone) Photographs of selected speakers List of attendees (includes miscellaneous photos) Field Trips