In 2003 the USFWS empowered the Desert Tortoise Recovery Plan Assessment Committee to conduct a thorough review of the 1994 Desert Tortoise Recovery Plan. In the context of ten years of research and management, the assessment report identified strategies that would promote a more cohesive, scientifically-powerful recovery program. Following recommendations in the assessment and those made by a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, the USFWS established the Desert Tortoise Recovery Office (DTRO) as a non-regulatory team to coordinate species recovery activities such as research, monitoring and management actions. The DTRO assists in the coordination between land managers and research scientists, the interagency Desert Tortoise Management Oversight Group (MOG), and the California Desert Managers Group (DMG), as well as other local, state, or regional working groups.

In 2007 the DTRO (facilitated by the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution and the Center for Collaborative Policy at California State University, Sacramento) conducted a series of workshops with land managers who have jurisdiction over desert tortoise habitat. The Redlands Institute (with funding from the US Department of Defense Army Research Office) and Dr. Philip Murphy (CEO of InfoHarvest) assisted in the collection of local data, mapping and knowledge that could be relevant for updating the 1994 recovery plan. The first round of workshops in each of the regions focused on characterizing threats (extent and severity) and manager recovery actions. This information became the basis for a second round of workshops that led to a proof-of-concept for a Decision Support System (DSS) that could assist in the definition and management of recovery actions by each agency.