The Mohave ground squirrel is a California state-listed threatened species that has been petitioned for federal listing twice, in 1993 and 2005 and is not currently federally listed. In March 2022, coordinated meetings resulted in draft proposals directed at the most critical research questions for this species. There is currently a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for MGS that is led by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and this group has been active since at least 2008 to support this species. The TAG acts as an advisory group to the Department but does not include functions that could actively support funding these research proposals or training opportunities for this species. To support these functions as well as coordinating the active MGS volunteer corps, a new non-profit was officially formed in January 2023. Our group now has state and federal non-profit status, over 75 members, and has obtained grant funding to assist in determining the distribution and status of the species throughout its range in the western Mojave Desert. We have many active committees with activities to report. We've made many strides forward, and learned a few lessons along the way.