2026 AZA Herp TAG MEETING
Welcome to the 2026 AZA Herpetology Taxon Advisory Group meeting at the Phoenix Zoo! See below for the itinerary and some food, entertainment and hike recommendations!
Itinerary
Thursday, April 30
9 – 10:25 a.m. | Welcome and ATAG Business
Steering Committee Introductions
Election Results
ATAG General Updates
2026 ATAG Grant Update
Puerto Rican Crested Toar Update – Diane Barber
Houston Toad Program Update – Audrey Koepp
Panamanian Golden Frog SSP Program Update – Vicky Poole
Wyoming Toad Program Update – Derek Benson
AZA ATAG Husbandry Course Update – Mark Vassallo/Robert Hill
10:25 – 10:45 a.m. | Break
10:45 – 11 a.m. | ATAG Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) Workshop: Impact, Direction and Output
– Derek Bensen, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo
11 – 11:15 a.m. | Over 30 Years of Chiricahua Leopard Frog Head-starting and Breeding for Release at the Phoenix Zoo
– Piper Press, Phoenix Zoo
11:15 – 11:45 a.m. | Toad Smoke: Biocultural History and Conservation of the Sonoran Desert Toad (Incilius alvarius)
– Robert A. Villa, Tuscon Herpetological Society | The Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hills, University of Arizona
11:45 – 12:15 p.m. | Dispersal patterns and diet/reproductive ecology of invasive American bullfrogs in southeast Arizona.
– Javan Bauder, University of Arizona
12:15-1:45 | Lunch
1:30 – 2 p.m. | Amphibian reintroductions and chytrid disease mitigation research
– Brian Gratwicke, PhD, Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
2 – 2:20 p.m. | Salamander Conservation following a 500ish year storm in North Carolina
– Dustin Smith, North Carolina Zoo
2:20 – 2:35 p.m. | Developing egg counting software for use in the Houston Toad Recovery Program
– Audrey Koepp, Houston Zoo.
2:35-2:55 p.m. | Break
2:55 – 3:20 p.m. | Updates of the Saint Louis Zoo’s Amphibian Conservation Center
– Justin Elden, St Louis Zoo.
3:20 – 3:50 p.m. | Adaptive Recovery of the Southern Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog (Rana muscosa)
– Leah Jacobs, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance
3:55 – 4:45 p.m. | Roundtable Discussion: Amphibian Biobanking Network: A Collaborative Approach to Conservation. Targeted roundtable/discussion group on the establishment, maintenance, and logistics of amphibian biobanking within your facility.
– Allison Julien Ph.D., Fort Worth Zoo, Derek Benson, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium
Friday, May 1
8 – 8:30 a.m. | Closed TAG Meeting
8:30 – 9 a.m. | Closed Program Leader Meeting
9 – 9:15 a.m. | Welcome, opening and review of RCP goals and TAG SC meeting
9:15 – 10:15 a.m. | Program updates
9:15 – 9:25 a.m. | San Esteban chuckwalla
– Kelly Garner, Zoo Atlanta
9:25 – 9:35 a.m. | Black tree monitors
– Kate Gore, Chattanooga Zoo
9:35 – 9:45 a.m. | Komodo dragon
– Chris Baker, Memphis Zoo
9:45 – 9:55 a.m. | Cyclura spp.
– Cayle Pearson, Jacksonville Zoo
9:55 – 10:15 a.m. | Fiji Island iguana
– Brett Baldwin, San Diego Zoo
10:15 – 10:30 a.m. | Break
10:30 – 10:50 a.m. | “Casting a wide net for sustainable conservation”
– Brett Baldwin, San Diego Zoo
10:50 – 11:10 a.m. | “¡Larga Vida a Las Lucias Gigantes! A conservation initiative for giant Hispaniolan galliwasps”
– James Flaherty, Nashville Zoo
11:10 – 11:30 a.m. | “Insights on a living fossil: Current studies on Lanthonotus borneensis at Audubon Zoo”
– Robert Mendyk, Audubon Zoo
11:30 – 11:50 a.m. | “Gila monsters – a well-adapted but atypical desert lizard”
– Dale DeNardo, DVM, Ph.D., Arizona State University
11:50 a.m. – 12:10 p.m. | “Advances in reproductive monitoring and assisted reproduction in Phrynosoma cornutum”
– Allison Julien, Ph.D., Fort Worth Zoo
12:10 – 1:25 p.m. | Lunch
1:25 – 1:50 p.m. | Uroplatus program updates, including results from a coordinated Crypto project between RBZ, UF, and UGA
– Sean Foley, Riverbanks Zoo & Garden and Robert Ossiboff, DVM, Ph.D., DACVP (Dr. Oz), University of Florida
1:50 – 2:35 p.m. | “Crypto management in a large herp collection”
– Vicky Poole and Kim Rainwater, DVM, Fort Worth Zoo
2:35 – 2:55 p.m. | Texas Parks and Wildlife Department YouTube video or continued crypto discussions with the full group
2:55 – 3:10 p.m. | Break
3:10 – 4:10 p.m. | Panel discussion: “Crypto Quest, the eternal search for a better understanding of this mysterious and confounding parasite”
4:10 – 5 p.m. | Other open discussions
Food & Entertainment
Loco Patron (Mexican food) – 222 S Mill Ave #115, Tempe, AZ 85281
Daily Jam (breakfast/brunch) – 310 S Mill Ave #A101, Tempe, AZ 85281
Mill Ave/Rural Rd. (near ASU’s campus – restaurants/bars/shopping)
Culinary Dropout (restaurant) – 149 S Farmer, Tempe, AZ 85281
Snakes and Lattes (board game cafe) – 20 W 6th St, Tempe, AZ 85281
Pedal Haus (brewery) – 730 S Mill Ave #102, Tempe, AZ 85281
The Shop Beer Co. (brewery) – 922 W 1st St, Tempe, AZ 85281
Four Peaks (brewery) – 1340 E 8th St, Tempe, AZ 85281
Fate Brewing (brewery) – 1312 N Scottsdale Rd, Scottsdale, AZ 85257 or 201 E Southern Ave, Tempe, AZ 85282
