A new vehicle license plate in Minnesota is now available as part of a long-running effort to raise money for critical habitat in the state.

Borrowing the image from the Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) turkey stamp for 2016, a proud tom graces the left side of the plate, the state announced Friday.

Motorists who choose critical habitat plates pay a $10 initial fee and an additional $30 per year. Funds from the sale help the DNR provide matching dollars to purchase land that is important to the survival of many plants and animals in Minnesota.

There are 10 of these specialty plates to choose from that benefit the DNR as part of a fundraising effort that started in 1995 and has brought in nearly $60 million.

At the end of 2015, more than 185,000 such plates were on the road, about 30 percent of all specialty plates issued by the state. In July, a plate was added that depicted a canoe on a lake, and in 2014 a moose began finding its way onto vehicles registered in the state.

Paul Walsh