Wednesday, May 26, 2004

DNR reports good sales of wildlife plates With first quarter tag sales tallied andreported, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division is encouraged by the number of wildlife license plates purchased throughout the state. From December 2003 to March 2004, more than 117,900 eagle tags and 51,100 bobwhite quail tags have been sold, helping to raise important revenue for their respective programs. If current trends continue, WRD will exceed their projections for the both the bald eagle and the bobwhite quail wildlife tags. “We’re extremely excited to see that both wildlife license plates are selling so successfully throughout Georgia,” said Noel Holcomb, Director, WRD. “While we expected both tags to sell well, it’s encouraging to see the actual numbers that back up our expectations.” According to Holcomb, both tags will double WRD’s projected numbers for tags sold in 2004 if sales remain constant for the remainder of the year. County tag offices in Cobb County and Talbot County were the leaders among all Georgia counties for wildlife tag sales during the first quarter of 2004. Cobb County sold the highest number of plates with more than 11,300 eagle plates and 2,300 quail plates, while Talbot County had the highest percentage with over 18 percent of all vehicles registered in the county bearing the eagle tag and 16.5 percent bearing the quail tag. According to Beth Brown, WRD Public Affairs Program Manager, a recent survey of county tag offices revealed that roughly 70 percent of Georgians still visit the county tag office to renew their vehicle registration, despite opportunities to renew by mail or over the Internet. “Based on the high numbers of people still walking into a tag office, we rely heavily on county offices to help us spread the word about wildlife tags and what the funds raised by the tags are used for,” said Brown. “We applaud Cobb and Talbot Counties for the exceptional job they’re doing.” The Bald Eagle/American Flag plate replaces the original wildlife license plate that featured a bobwhite quail in a longleaf pine and wiregrass habitat. First produced in 1997, this license plate was created to support the Nongame Wildlife & Natural Heritage Section, which uses the proceeds to fund various programs focused on conserving and protecting Georgia’s nongame and endangered wildlife. There are currently no state general revenue funds provided for nongame wildlife conservation, education and recreation programs and these important projects are funded solely through federal grants, direct donations and fundraising initiatives like the nongame wildlife license plate. By purchasing this license plate, Georgians help fund many important conservation projects including monitoring the state's bald eagle population, conserving swallow-tailed kites, protecting loggerhead sea turtle nests on coastal beaches and restoring longleaf pine/wiregrass habitat for species such as red cockaded woodpeckers, gopher tortoises and many species of songbirds. Land has been purchased to protect critical habitats including a wood stork rookery, mountain caves, longleaf pine forests and important watersheds. The quail tag replaces the second wildlife license plate that featured a covey of quail taking flight over a field. First released in 2001, this tag supports conservation practices in the Bobwhite Quail Initiative, Georgia’s first and only state funded private lands wildlife habitat incentive program. Georgia continues to lose natural habitat for quail, songbirds and other wildlife in part because of the state's fast-growing human population rate and changing land management practices. The Bobwhite Quail Initiative was implemented to address declining quail populations by establishing quality habitat for quail and other wildlife on lands in east central, central and southwestern Georgia. This program works to encourage landowners to establish field borders, hedgerows, and other areas that will provide critical habitat for nesting, feeding and cover for quail and other species. Both wildlife plates are currently available at any county tag office and can be purchased for a one-time fee of $20 per tag. Tags can be purchased at the office counter or by checking the appropriate wildlife license plate box on your mail-in registration form. For more information on Georgia’s wildlife license plates and the important projects they support, contact the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, at 2070 U.S. Highway 278 SE, Social Circle, GA 30025 or by calling 770-918-6400.