Call for Papers Released!

The Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) and the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (TFTSG) are pleased to announce the release of the Call for Papers for the upcoming Symposium on the Conservation and Biology of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles, generously sponsored again this year by Zoo Med. This is the 9th annual conference hosted by the TSA, and has become the world's largest gathering of tortoise and freshwater turtle biologists, turtle enthusiasts, and captive breeding specialists in the world. The Call for Papers can be found on the TSA website and includes information on special sessions, the poster session and travel grants available to presenters. The deadline for abstracts and travel grant applications is June 3, so don't delay!
 
Conference registration is also now available online, along with other event details. Check out the conference page by clicking here and contact Heather Lowe with any questions. We hope to see you in Orlando!

Conference attendees at Turtle Park in St. Louis in 2009

Year of the Turtle 

The Year of the Turtle newsletter and calendar for March are now available for download. Check out the March 2011 calendar "pin-up" - an international "model" in leopard print! Congratulations to Jelger Herder, an employee of RAVON (whose acronym in English translates to Reptiles, Amphibian, and Fish Conservation Netherlands), for taking the winning photo for the March photo contest and calendar.  Jelger's photographed a young Leopard Tortoise (Geochelone pardalis) in 2007 while searching for reptiles in Mkhuze, South Africa.  His photo was chosen as the March featured photo out of hundreds of photos received since our contest began. All photos will continue to be considered for future calendar months, as well as for use in other YoT products and documents. 

Visit www.yearoftheturtle.org to find the Newsletter, calendar and photo contest information for upcoming months, a recent press release on the Turtle Conservation Coalition's recent report, the growing USA Turtle Mapping Project and our ever-growing list of partners (including the Turtle Survival Alliance).

TSA Seed Grants Available

The TSA provides grants for research and conservation action that support specific and selected tortoise and freshwater turtle projects and priority programs. In general, grants are restricted to species ranked either Endangered or Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List, or that have been highlighted for conservation action in Species Recovery Plan workshops or by the TSA Field Conservation Committee. Priority species and regions may change from year to year.

For 2011 we have funding to support a limited number of projects that highlight several priority regions and species.  The priority regions are: Colombia, Indonesia, India and Africa. Proposals that fall outside of these regions will not be considered. Full details and priority species are available on the website. The proposal deadline is May 1. Award determinations will take place by July 1.