Wildlife License Plate Gets a New Look

Idaho's cutthroat trout specialty license plate has a new look. The new plates are now available at the Idaho Division of Motor Vehicles. The updated design will please anglers with its realistic depiction of Idaho's state fish - the cutthroat trout. The wildlife license plates, sponsored by the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation, are also available from every county assessor's office throughout Idaho. The new cutthroat design joins the other wildlife license plates - elk and bluebird. In 1992, the Idaho Legislature passed the wildlife license plate bill that allowed a portion of the wildlife license plate proceeds to benefit the nongame wildlife program, conservation education and watchable wildlife. The bluebird plate became available in 1993. The elk plate was added in 1998 and the cutthroat trout plate in 2003. Proceeds from the purchase of wildlife plates support the Idaho Department of Fish and Game's nongame program, now part of Conservation Sciences. Nongame wildlife is not hunted, fished or trapped, and includes species such as peregrine falcons, bluebirds, frogs and wolverines. This critical plate program provides most f Fish and Game's nongame budget, helping fund many nongame and watchable wildlife projects and activities throughout Idaho. It also helps leverage federal funds through matching grant opportunities. The initial wildlife plate purchase costs $35, and renewals cost $25, in addition to annual registration fees, county administrative fees and Idaho state license plate fees. Conservation Sciences gets 70 percent of the money from bluebird plates, and 60 percent from elk and trout plates. Ten percent of the money from elk plates goes to the Idaho Fish and Game Wildlife Health Laboratory and the Idaho Department of Agriculture for wildlife disease research and monitoring. Ten percent from cutthroat plates goes to the Department of Parks and Recreation for construction and maintenance of non-motorized boating facilities. For information, or to buy a wildlife plate, please contact the local county assessor: www.itd.idaho.gov/dmv/vehicleservices/assessor.htm. The Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation is a nonprofit corporation established in 1990 and dedicated to protecting and sustaining Idaho's fishing, hunting and wildlife heritage for present and future generations. More information is available by visiting www.ifwf.org.