New 'Wild' Iowa license plates revealed; Designed by Cedar Rapids artist

Iowa Department of Natural Resources release:

Posted: January 11, 2010

DES MOINES - Two new Iowa license plates to help fund natural resources will be available for purchase at county treasurers' offices this spring. The plates were unveiled by Lt. Gov. Patty Judge Saturday at the State Capitol during the Resource Enhancement And Protection (REAP) Congress.

The two new designs, featuring a brook trout and a deer, will attract two of the largest groups of Iowan outdoor enthusiasts, anglers and deer hunters, said Ross Harrison, DNR REAP coordinator. The license plates were designed by Cedar Rapids artist Greg Bordignon

. At a purchase price of $45, and annual renewal of $25 for the numbered plates, the REAP program receives $35 from each purchase and $10 from renewals. The DNR's Wildlife Diversity program gets $10 from the purchase and $15 from renewals.

The two new plates join three others dedicated to those natural resource programs: the goldfinch/rose, pheasant and eagle plates which together generate about $1 million a year and outsell all of the state's other specialty plates. Bordignon also designed the current pheasant and eagle plates.

Harrison predicted the two new plates may double the current income within two years because of the popularity of the designs. "The brook trout is Iowa's only native trout, and is the best indicator of water quality of any fish species."

REAP provides funding to cities, counties and state conservation efforts, as well as to landowners and conservation organizations and individuals. Currently funded at $18 million in appropriations from state gaming revenues, the license plate income is added on top of that amount. REAP's public participation component includes a congress every two year for citizen input into running the program.

The DNR's nongame wildlife program uses its license plate revenue to match federal money for projects dealing with wildlife that are not hunted or fished, and therefore not managed by use of hunting and fishing license revenue.

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THE GAZETTE

09/21/2005

Your choices grow for license plates

2 featuring artwork by Robins man aid programs for wildlife

By Orlan Love

The Gazette

Two new specialty license plates - one featuring a pheasant, the other an eagle - give Iowans more options in expressing their support of natural resource programs.

Wildlife artist Greg Bordignon, 46, of Robins, created and donated the artwork for the plates, which went on sale Tuesday at county treasurer's offices.

Bordignon and his wife, Bernie, bought their new plates before heading to an unveiling ceremony at Department of Natural Resources headquarters in Des Moines.

"I'm proud the DNR asked me to do this," said Bordignon, whose paintings have long been sold by conservation groups to raise money for their causes.

The new plates join the current natural resources plate - the goldfinch on the wild rose - as a source of funding for the state's Resource Enhancement and Protection and wildlife diversity programs.

The plates also give Iowans a way to demonstrate their support for conservation of natural resources, DNR Director Jeff Vonk said.

Introduced in 1996, the natural resources plate adorns about 45,000 vehicles - more than any of the other approximately 40 specialty plates offered in Iowa.

The DNR hopes the new plates will increase sales by at least 10,000 in the coming years, Vonk said.

The initial purchase price for the special plate is $45 with a $25 annual renewal fee.

People who have the goldfinch/wild rose plate can exchange it for one of the new ones for a fee of $5 at their county treasurer's office.

Income from natural resource plate sales and renewals last year amounted to about $700,000, Vonk said. If 10,000 of the new plates were sold, that would generate another $450,000 for REAP

and wildlife diversity activities. The 15-year-old REAP program provides grants and other funding for city, county and state parks, habitat, water quality, roadside vegetation, conservation education and historical projects.

REAP's primary source of funding is state gaming revenues, with annual appropriations of $11 million the last three years.

The wildlife diversity program focuses on the conservation of Iowa's 550 species of wildlife that are not considered sport fish or game. In addition to the license plate income, the program receives funding from the Chickadee Checkoff program found on Iowa state income tax forms; that brought in about $150,000 last year.

The new income from the license plate will qualify wildlife diversity to receive an additional $400,000 grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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