• Home
• About
• Archives

Professor emeritus honored for contributions to desert tortoise conservation

Dr. Elliott Jacobson

The Desert Tortoise Council has named Dr. Elliott Jacobson, a professor emeritus of zoological medicine at the UF College of Veterinary Medicine, as its 2021 recipient of the Kristin H. Berry Award in recognition of his efforts toward the conservation and knowledge of desert tortoises.

Jacobson is also a previous recipient of the award, having won it in 2012 as well.

The Kristin H. Berry Award is the council’s oldest and most prestigious award. It recognizes an individual or organization that has made especially significant or unique contributions to the conservation and/or knowledge of desert tortoises, or to achieving the goals and objectives of the Desert Tortoise Council over the long term.

The council’s mission is to assure the perpetual survival of viable populations of desert tortoises throughout their historical ranges. The group focuses its efforts on the tortoise species complex that occurs in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, currently recognized as Gopherus agassizii, Gopherus morafkai, and Gopherus evgoodei. The council also serves in a professional advisory manner on matters involving management, conservation and protection of desert tortoises and their habitats.