Nevada Fish & Wildlife Office
Pacific Southwest Region

Desert Tortoise Recovery Office

 
Photo: Desert Tortoise Recover Office
 

The Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) is found throughout the Mojave and Colorado deserts of California, Nevada , Arizona , and Utah, north and west of the Colorado River. Another species, the Sonoran desert tortoise (Gopherus morafkai), occurs on the opposite side of the Colorado River in Arizona and Mexico. Tortoises have survived in the desert for millions of years, however today they face many hurdles.

The Desert Tortoise Recovery Office (DTRO) based at the Service's Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office in Reno , Nevada , has been established to address population declines and focus on recovery of the Mojave desert tortoise. The establishment of the DTRO is the result of strategies arising from the General Accounting Office's December 2002 audit of recovery actions for the Desert Tortoise (external link) and the October 2004 Desert Tortoise Recovery Plan Assessment (8.5 MB PDF) .

The DTRO focuses exclusively on research, monitoring, recovery plan implementation, and associated recovery permitting, rather than on regulation, and will provide a centralized point of contact through which these activities are coordinated. The DTRO strives to facilitate increased scientific understanding and improved recovery progress by increasing research activities outlined in the 2011 Revised Recovery Plan (5.7 MB PDF). It assists in the coordination between managers and research scientists, and tracking and reporting new information about the efficacy of management actions. The DTRO works with the Desert Tortoise Management Oversight Group in coordinating range-wide issues and works with the California Desert Managers Group and other local, state, or regional working groups in coordinating issues at those relevant scale.

Goals
  		• Provide more effective and coordinated research, recovery, and monitoring activities.
  		• Provide a sound and defensible technical basis for decision-making.
  		• Assess the short- and long-term benefits of recovery actions.
  		• Provide information and synthesis in a timely manner and useful format.
  		• Facilitate communication of progress toward, and maintain an open dialogue regarding, desert tortoise recovery goals.
  		• Provide greater credibility and support for desert tortoise recovery efforts.
     
    Responsibilities
  		• Provide staff support to land and resource management agencies and stakeholders to implement desert tortoise recovery actions range-wide.
  		• Advise, conduct, coordinate, and prioritize research, including the administration of recovery permits.

    Desert Tortoise Video

     

     

     

     

     

     
  		• Develop new techniques for monitoring desert tortoises, their habitat, and threats.
  		• Recommend management actions based upon the best available science.
  		• Empanel and coordinate committees, work groups, or other advisory bodies, as needed.
  		• Inform policy and regulatory processes through recovery recommendations and plan reviews.
  		• Develop a budget to support the Office and its objectives.
  		• Provide a single point of contact for managers, policymakers, and stakeholders with scientific needs and issues.
  		• Provide feedback to resource managers, policymakers, and stakeholders, including quarterly reports and scientific synthesis documents.
       
       
    Announcements   Authorized Desert Tortoise Biologist Form
    Desert Tortoise Habitat & Life History   Desert Tortoise Recovery Plan
    DesertTortoise.gov (external link)   DTRO Staff
    How You Can Help The Desert Tortoise   Land Management For Desert Tortoise
    Meeting Summaries   Monitoring, Recovery Planning, and
    Misc. Reports and Documents
    Science Advisory Committee
    Threats to the Desert Tortoise   2011 Health Assessments for Translocation
    Last updated: March 12, 2012