Desiree / IRCF - ProfilesArchive

About Me

Direct Contact Information -- des[at]IRCF.orgI'm a software engineer in Southern California. I have in my home 1 iguana Darby - and 2 bearded dragons - Yucca and Daytona. My beloved green iguana girl of 11 years passed away on March 5, 2007. Our personal website is Beachy Iguana . Until I run out of stories and thoughts about Vega$, I'll be continuing to blog about her; please come back and visit to remember her, or subscribe to the blogOutside of the office, I am actively involved with the International Reptile Conservation Foundation . My efforts with IRCF have taken me twice to Grand Cayman to help with the Blue Iguana Recovery Program in preserving the endangered Grand Cayman Blue Iguana (Cyclura lewisi), which have made for some incredible experiences. In December 2007, I had the opportunity to travel to Guatemala for Project Heloderma ; with our partners Zoo Atlanta and Zootropic, we secured habitat in the Motagua Valley for both the Guatemalan Beaded Lizard and Guatemalan Black Iguana.The following are currently IRCF supported Programs :

I will also be blogging about IRCF activities and events. I also have a mirror IRCF specific blog on Blogspot .I also maintain Herp Vet Connection that accepts reptile and amphibian veterinarian recommendations. Please note that I am not a veterinarian, but I will do my best to help direct you to the resources to assist you and your animal(s).I have been focusing more on my photography and website development, which I can attribute to folks that I have met in MySpace; seeing other peoples' work can be truly motivational. As of June 2006, shooting with Canon EOS 5D with EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM and EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lenses. Prior to that, used a Nikon CP 995.All text, images and graphics, unless stated otherwise are property of Desiree W. and cannot be used without permission. Please note that if you wish to use my photos, please message me or send an email to des [at] ircf.org. Apologies for the text, but this is to safeguard my photos from copyright infringement for monetary gain.Friends Request: Trying to avoid spam and hackers, so if it isn't obvious we have something in common or your profile is marked private, please send me a message; then I won't automatically deny the requestFor those who have left comments: if you are wondering why your graphics are not showing up, it's because I have disabled that feature. It is not because there is any judgement call on your graphics, it's because I'm a minimalist. I think that's an influence from my other half, as I wasn't always that way!

My Interests

International Reptile Conservation Foundation

Des' IRCF Blog at Blogspot

Endangered Reptiles Conservation; Wildlife Conservation; Digital Photography; Herpetology; Animals; Wildlife; Iguanas; Bearded Dragons; Software, Database, and Web Design/Development; Configuration & Data Management; CMMI; ISO; Fitness; Cardio Kickboxing; Beach Runs

I'd like to meet:

Folks interested in becoming involved with reptile conservation and education and/or joining the IRCF . Also those generally interested in reptiles and photography

I.R.C.F
You too can be a part of the solution! Join the IRCF and learn about endangered reptile conservation and programs, as well as how you can be involved! Just by being a member, you are being a part of the solution!! You will also receive quarterly journals!
Thank to Rich at HerpCenter.com, you too can link to IRCF and help IRCF's goal is assisting endangered reptiles; visit HerpCenter's Link to the IRCF for the MySpace code. Please leave a comment after the banner add, so I can remember to add you as a friend!

Forum Resources
I know folks have questions that sometimes needs answering or a place to network. Here are some resources that I have personally interacted since 1995 and tend to recommend folks to:

Television:

Top Chef, Hell's Kitchen, Next Food Network Star, Iron Chef America, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, CSI venues, Dinner Impossible

My Blog

IRCF 2008 Show Schedule (upd. 2008.05.18)

We're steadily working on appearing at the following reptile shows to help bring awareness to endangered reptile conservation. This is a great opportunity for you to meet the faces behind IRCF a...
Posted by Desiree / IRCF on Tue, 08 Apr 2008 03:21:00 PST

Blue Iguanas - 7 killed and 2 injured in Grand Cayman

http://www.blueiguana.ky http://www.IRCF.org Sadly, BIRP has lost 7 breeding adults and 2 males are still under veterinary watch. The Blue Iguana Recovery Program's website is being constantly updated...
Posted by Desiree / IRCF on Tue, 06 May 2008 09:20:00 PST

March 2008 IGUANA journal has hit the mailboxes!

Fresh off the presses, the latest journal has arrived graced with a stunning cover photo of a male Sister Isle Iguana (Cyclura nubila caymanensis). Read about the land acquisition in Guatemala for Pro...
Posted by Desiree / IRCF on Tue, 08 Apr 2008 03:39:00 PST

2008: Volunteer and student opportunities with herps (upd. 2008.03.01

I thought I'd share these this year; will update as I learn of new opportunities. *********************************************************** http://www.ircf.org/volunteer.php Andros Iguana Research ...
Posted by Desiree / IRCF on Sat, 01 Mar 2008 09:16:00 PST

Still time to get your December 2007 journal!

It's not too late to receive the latest journal! The cover features a young Lesser Antillean Iguana (Iguana Delicatissima). Learn about the Amethystine Python (Morelia kinghorni) the ...
Posted by Desiree / IRCF on Sun, 03 Feb 2008 10:59:00 PST

Upper Newport Bay Estuary

This past Sunday, I decided to focus on photographing birds ;) I had read about this reserve in the AAA Westways magazine; it's a migratory stopover for many bird species. For more info: ...
Posted by Desiree / IRCF on Sat, 01 Dec 2007 09:28:00 PST

Reggie: My Story - Book Signing - Harbor City, CA 12/1

What a crazy day it's been! I think somewhere communication was confused so I ended being at Torrance Memorial starting at 11am; I didn't leave til 2:30pm. I ended up not returning to work...
Posted by Desiree / IRCF on Sat, 05 May 2007 11:06:00 PST

Guatemala - December 2007

I'm extremely excited as I haven't done any international travel for IRCF in ages (since volunteering for the Blues in 2004 and 2005). I'm hoping I'll get to see the Guatemalan Beaded Lizard (He...
Posted by Desiree / IRCF on Thu, 15 Nov 2007 07:55:00 PST

RECOVERED!!!! Stolen Tortoises - Birch Run, MI (updated news coverage)

Ya..as details come out, I'm sure folks will be shaking heads or dropping jaws with the theives' blatant behavior. And of course, if you saw them at shows or expos, they probably appeared fine.&...
Posted by Desiree / IRCF on Thu, 04 Oct 2007 07:41:00 PST

IRCF 2007 Show Schedule

Note: updated 11/18 show info. We're steadily working on appearing at the following reptile shows to help bring awareness to endangered reptile conservation. This is a great opportunity for you ...
Posted by Desiree / IRCF on Wed, 18 Jul 2007 10:11:00 PST