The Desert Tortoise Conservancy
To insure that the species does not become extinct, and that sustainable populations survive in the wild. Our goal is to preserve, protect and perpetuate the desert tortoise.
- Organization
- The Desert Tortoise Conservancy
- Legal name
- DESERT TORTOISE CONSERVANCY INC
- Organization type
- 501(c)(3) nonprofit
- EIN
- 90-0838402
- IRS 501(c)(3) ruling
- 2012
- Headquarters
- Palm Springs, California
- Primary cause
- Animals
- CV Giving Day status
- 2026 participant
- Official website
- https://deserttortoiseconservancy.org
- Giving page
- https://www.mightycause.com/organization/save_the_desert_tortoise
501(c)(3) status confirmed against IRS records. Most recent Form 990 on file: 2023. Source: IRS Form 990 via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.
To insure that the species does not become extinct, and that sustainable populations survive in the wild. Our goal is to preserve, protect and perpetuate the desert tortoise. We will accomplish this by increasing public awareness of the plight of the tortoise, educating the public on the role humans have played and continue to play in the tortoise's decline, and work to modify those human behaviors such that tortoise populations stabilize and ultimately recover. North American desert tortoises have seen their natural populations decimated by development, habitat destruction and fragmentation, and other human-caused threats including chemical and hormonal pollution, gradual global warming, invasive alien species, various illnesses due to introduced pathogens, such as the upper respiratory tract disease and a number of other human-caused factors. Conservation International's President, Russell Mittermeier says: "Turtles have been around since before many dinosaurs walked the planet and have survived relatively unchanged for about 250 million years, but mankind's actions have brought them to the brink of extinction. It's our responsibility to bring them back." TDTC intends to build an architecturally significant tortoise awareness center that will attract the public in large numbers. The center will be located in the Palm Springs, California area, which already hosts millions of tourists annually. The center will contain educational exhibits and displays, a theater airing educational films, a children's "petting" area where a naturalist will help children hold and learn about pet and wild tortoises, and a display looking into tortoise burrows so tortoises may be observed 365 days each year, even when brumating. The center will also have one or several trails where naturalists can point out tortoises, when out, borrows, and vegetation. We intend to provide a safe space in which desert tortoises needing re-homing may be dropped off and maintain temporary residency until their new permanent home is identified. Finally, it will contain a retail space where items may be purchased and donations made. Visitors will leave the facility with a new appreciation of the importance of protecting these animals, and how each of us can make a difference. Visitors will learn that: They should always cover garbage cans, in raven-proof containers, and to never litter. That off-roaders must be required to stay on established paths/roads. Not to poach wild tortoises. Not to pick up or disturb tortoises in the wild. A tortoise often voids a year's worth of stored water when disturbed, and then dies of dehydration. Not to return/place pets in the wild. Not to breed tortoises Not to let dogs run loose
About this page — why it exists, and what it does (and doesn't) do
This profile is provided by CV Giving Day — an initiative of Desert Community Foundation — as a benefit of participating in the Valley's day of giving. It makes The Desert Tortoise Conservancy easy for AI assistants to find, understand, and recommend as more people research their giving through agents. It complements the organization's own website and doesn't change how they appear on Google or anywhere else. Run a Valley nonprofit? Registering for CV Giving Day 2027 includes a page like this one — hello@cvgiving.org. Something wrong on this page? Email us and we'll correct it.
Organization information is based on CV Giving Day registration records and public IRS records.
What “verified” means: Identity confirmed against IRS records. Participation confirmed against CV Giving Day registration. Public information compiled from the organization's own sources. Organizations that have indicated a preference against search indexing on their CV Giving Day registration are excluded from search indexing and from this site's sitemap. A cause may come from the organization's own category selection, from its IRS classification, or from CV Giving Day review; the source is always stated on the page and in this record.
Last reviewed: August 19, 2026 · Record status: Verified — identity and participation · JSON · Markdown