A year ago Governor Gordon challenged Wyoming citizens to purchase 2,020 wildlife conservation license plates. Wyomingites responded, raising over $300,000 for signage, fences, underpasses and overpasses that help wildlife cross Wyoming roadways safely. Three years ago, during the legislative session of 2018, the Wyoming Wildlife Federation worked with NGO partners and legislators to pass the Wyoming Conservation plates to raise money for the 240 needed wildlife crossings projects across the state.
“The success of these plates shows our lobbying efforts have come full circle. We are proud to help wildlife through the hard work of passing good bills into law,” says WWF’s Jess Johnson.
These license plates were sold due to the extensive efforts of WWF and our NGO partners, including the Muley Fanatic Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, The WYldlife Fund, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Bowhunters of Wyoming, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, and many more. Also, many Wyoming businesses stepped up with special promotions at their local businesses, while others, like Jackson EcoTour Adventures and SOS Well Services, were willing to put them on entire fleets of vehicles. Any time people from all walks of life come together and voluntarily contribute to the betterment of wildlife and roadways, it’s a win for Wyoming.
The Federation would like to thank the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Wyoming Department of Transportation for their hard work to implement this great funding method for safer Wyoming roadways.
Governor Gordon said in a release on Thursday, “We share the roads in Wyoming with our abundant wildlife, and the funds generated from the sales of the plate serves as a basis for projects that can prevent crashes with over 6,000 big game annually.”
The conservation license plates cost $180 initially, with $150 of that purchase going directly towards wildlife crossings work. Then, there is an annual $50 renewal fee that also goes toward the crossings work. This effort is one of many ways the Federation has worked to build funding mechanisms for crucial wildlife crossing work. The roadway projects funded by license plate sales can reduce wildlife collisions up to 90% and ensure animals can safely cross roads to get to seasonal ranges.
Find more information about Wyoming’s Conservation License plate at wildlifecrossingswork.com