Minnesota drivers will have four new nature license-plate designs to choose from in addition to the now-famous loon and deer plates that help pay for conservation projects.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Minnesota Department of Public Safety will pick four from among eight new designs.
The new designs announced Tuesday include a showy lady slipper flower, the state flower; a northern Minnesota fishing scene; a majestic white-tailed buck; a pheasant in flight; a black-capped chickadee; a walleye; a pair of loons; and a wood duck.
"With as many vanity plates as you see out there, people are interested in snazzing up their car. This gives them the chance to do that and show their wildlife colors, their support for conservation," said Lori Naumann, spokeswoman for the DNR's Nongame Program.
The public is invited to comment on the designs, though the final decision is up to the agency leaders. License-plate images and a citizen feedback form can be found at mndnr.gov through March 23.
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Agency officials said Tuesday that they hope to have four new plate designs available for motorists to buy later this year.
The critical habitat license plate program was created in 1995 to help support land acquisition efforts for key species. Motorists who purchase a critical habitat plate make a minimum annual contribution of $30 to the Reinvest in Minnesota Program above and beyond the usual cost to license their vehicle.
The donations have generated more than $25 million toward the purchase of 7,700 acres of critical habitat and have helped pay for nongame research and surveys, habitat enhancement and educational programs.
The money has gone to buy public hunting areas, called Wildlife Management Areas, as well as old-growth forest, wetlands, lake and river frontage and native prairie, Naumann said, and to conduct surveys of several species.
The original tan deer plate was issued in 1996 and the very popular loon plate followed in 2002. More than 100,000 motorists have habitat plates on their vehicles but plate sales have leveled off in recent years.
The eight new license plate options were designed by DNR staff using photographs and wildlife stamp art. They take advantage of new Minnesota-based flat license plate printing technology that allows photographs to be used as license plate art.
The critical habitat license plate program is a cooperative effort of the DNR; the Department of Public Safety, which administers license plate sales; and the Department of Corrections, whose prison industry produces the plates at its Rush City prison.
