Proposed Endangered Resources license plates
Wisconsin will soon have a new license plate benefiting the state’s endangered resources.
And, Department of Natural Resources spokesman Bob Manwell says, you can help choose the new design.
“The wolf license plate will still be available, and what we’re looking to do is add one to it. We’ll be featuring a contest on our website where folks can go and look at the four final designs and indicate their preference.”
The gray wolf has been featured on the Endangered Resources plate since 1995. Manwell says new flat-plate digital printing technology allows for more colorful and detailed license plates. The DNR hopes a new design will generate more interest in the program and help to revive declining sales of the plates, whose $25 annual fee supports the Endangered Resources conservation fund.
“The four final designs will feature animals familiar to a lot of Wisconsin citizens. There will be the badger, of course, and then four bird-based license plate designs. The Eastern bluebird, the red-headed woodpecker, and a blue heron.”
Surveys show nearly half of Wisconsin adults are bird watchers. So Manwell says birds are an easy choice for the new plates, which represent much more than just endangered wolves. The proposed plates also feature Wisconsin’s landscapes and precious wildlife habitats. The options were designed and donated by Nancy Rudd of Rudd Designs in New Glarus.
The $5 million program not only protects animals, but also native plants and natural communities critical to all species.
NOTE: Online voting begins (just after midnight tonight) 12:01 a.m. Friday, Oct. 9 and ends midnight Monday, Oct. 19. To vote, visit the DNR Web site and click on the button for “new license plate designs.”
Jackie Johnson report (1:43 mp3)
