Our Return to the Desert: 2024 Annual Symposium
On July 25 – 28, 2024, we, the Turtle Survival Alliance and IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group, hosted the 22nd Annual Symposium on the Conservation & Biology of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, Arizona, USA. It was an incredible week of turtle conservationists sharing their research, collaborating, and exploring the Sonoran Desert for a glimpse of some native reptiles.
We kicked off the event with a field trip to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum to explore the desert landscape and see some native reptile species. We hosted our Icebreaker at the event venue, Loews Ventana, and despite the rain brought by the seasonal monsoons, we enjoyed reconnecting with biologists from around the world, some of whom only see each other once a year at our symposium.
Friday began with the keynote address by Dr. Jeffrey Seminoff, “Building Synergies Across the Turtle Spectrum: Perspectives From a Sea Turtle Lifer”. We were pleased to have a marine turtle biologist featured at this year’s conference, inviting him to share his work in our sphere of turtle conservation.
After a full day of sessions, we gathered at Three Canyon Beer and Wine Garden for Drink Beer. Save Turtles.® to relax and recuperate for the weekend.
Saturday’s sessions spanned species of North America, including the Kinosternids and Terrepene genus, research findings on technology in field projects, and South American species. On Saturday evening, we ventured into Sabino Canyon with a tour led by Robert Villa of the Tucson Herpetological Society. Tucson is a fantastic location for herping, and many of our attendees went home having seen a slew of native reptiles, including Lyre Snakes (Trimorphodon bisctatus), Coral Snakes (Micruroides euryxanthus), Gila monsters (Heloderma suspectum), Arizona Mud Turtles (Kinosternon stejnegeri), and more.
In Sunday’s sessions, talks ranged from Asia and Australia and the Indian Subcontinent to the Great Lakes of the United States. Other sessions explored topics such as Environmental Barriers, Natural History, and the Pursuit of Knowledge.
Vendors were open all weekend connecting with symposium attendees and selling turtle swag. Our silent auction concluded with many attendees securing dozens of high-value items from around the world.
We concluded the week with our Awards Banquet, where we honored this year’s Behler and Pritchard Turtle Conservation Award Winners, and awarded the Student Awards for Best Papers and Posters.
We thank everyone who made this incredible event possible, including the Turtle Survival Alliance staff, the 2024 Sponsors & Vendors, the Board of Directors, Session & Poster Presenters, and all attendees. We look forward to 2025!
Header Image: A Desert Box Turtle (Terrepene ornata) crossing an Arizona road, photo by Grover Brown.
