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Drivers could get opportunity to support wildlife habitat with license plates [1]

['Joshua Haiar', 'More From Author', '- February']

Date: 2024-02

PIERRE — South Dakotans may soon be able to purchase a special license plate to support the state’s wildlife habitat conservation efforts.

The yet-to-be-designed plates would cost an as-yet undetermined fee that would go to the Game, Fish and Parks Department. The funds would be used to help improve everything from wetlands in the northeast part of the state to the ponderosa pine forests of the Black Hills.

A bill that would authorize the license plate plan passed the state’s House of Representatives 64-3 on Thursday, with two representatives excused. The bill now goes to a Senate committee.

“Habitat is the foundation of wildlife management,” Game, Fish, and Parks Secretary Kevin Robling told the House Transportation Committee on Tuesday, where the bill passed 12-0.

He said further details about the plates would be decided through the department’s typical proposal process. That would involve the GF&P Commission, a body appointed by the governor that regularly conducts public meetings.

Robling said the plan is to offer various designs, likely costing somewhere around $20 to $40 per plate, per year.

“We want to make sure there are options for people to choose from,” he said.

Robling said the bill gives people who do not purchase hunting or fishing licenses an opportunity to help fund the department’s conservation efforts. The program would start on March 1, 2025.

Various hunting and conservation groups supported the bill during the committee hearing.

“This is a good bill that’s going to help people become a walking billboard for habitat,” said Paul Lepisto with the Izaak Walton League of America, a conservation group.

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[1] Url: https://southdakotasearchlight.com/briefs/drivers-could-get-opportunity-to-support-wildlife-habitat-with-license-plates/

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