Give a Hoot! Checkoff for Wildlife

As you begin to think about filing your Idaho taxes, consider some of your friends that make life in Idaho interesting. As a taxpayer you can check off the square on your Idaho tax forms to donate any amount of your refund (or add to your tax payment) to nongame animal programs administered by Fish and Game. Other Fish and Game programs for game animals and fish are funded through the sale of licenses and tags to hunters and anglers. No general taxes go to either game or nongame programs. Nongame programs include education, conservation and recreation. Examples of nongame wildlife projects include producing popular educational publications such as viewing guides, bird feeders at nursing homes, and doing research on nongame wildlife species. Better information about those species aids wildlife management efforts and could help keep some from becoming rare. Fish and Game efforts with these species are aimed at protecting wildlife species before they decline to the point of listing under the federal Endangered Species Act. Besides the checkoff, the major source of funding for nongame programs is through the sale of the distinctive bluebird, trout, and elk license plates.