Minnesota's newest critical habitat license plate featuring a ring-necked pheasant is now available for motorists to buy.
The new plate was unveiled at the Governor's Pheasant Opener in Madelia last month. The image is from the 2007 state pheasant stamp, painted by Minnesota artist Joe Hautman.
"We are giving motorists more ways to show their conservation colors and individual identity," said Tom Landwehr, DNR commissioner.
Minnesota motorists can buy the new plate at any licensed registrar
or department of motor vehicle office. It's not necessary to wait until tabs are expired on the vehicle to purchase new plates and the tabs for the vehicle will expire at the same time.
Other critical habitat license plate options are: a showy ladyslipper, a northern Minnesota fishing scene, a white-tailed buck, a black-capped chickadee and a loon.
The critical habitat license plate program was created in 1995. Motorists who purchase a critical habitat plate make a minimum annual contribution of $30 to the Reinvest In Minnesota (RIM) Program. Every dollar is matched with private donations of cash or land. The plates have generated more than $25 million toward the purchase of 7,700 acres of critical habitat and have helped fund nongame research and surveys, habitat enhancement and educational programs
More than 100,000 motorists have habitat plates on their vehicles but plate sales have leveled off in recent years.
The critical habitat license plate program is cooperative effort of the DNR, the Department of Public Safety, which administers license plates sales, and the Department of Corrections, whose prison industry produces the plates at its Rush City facility.
