1/28/2003 Division of Wildlife
DONATE
A PORTION OF YOUR TAX RETURN TO THE NONGAME FUND
Summary: Donations to the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife
Fund through the Colorado state income tax checkoff are
helping lynx and other threatened and endangered wildlife.
A river otter study, tracking of the Canada lynx, the
reintroduction of black-footed ferrets and the recovery
and transplanting of threatened and endangered fish -
all are programs that generous Coloradans made possible
by donating part of their tax return to the Nongame and
Endangered Wildlife Fund.
Big game species such as deer, elk, sheep and bear benefit
from hunters and anglers, license buyers who fund the
majority of wildlife management programs in Colorado.
But there are 750 species of wildlife in Colorado that
aren't hunted or fished, and help for those species comes
mainly from grants and funds such as the tax checkoff.
The
Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Fund, which appears as
line item 31 on the state income tax form, pays for programs
to manage the state's nongame animals. It also supports
a litany of Division of Wildlife (DOW) programs to recover
species such as the black-footed ferret, bald eagle, lynx,
mountain plover, peregrine falcon, native greenback cutthroat
trout and boreal toad.
"The
check off has been important to the nongame and endangered
effort, supporting efforts to save several species while
minimizing the use of game cash funds," said Larry
Nelson, head of the DOW's species conservation program.
"The people who donate make a difference. In a real
sense we have river otters, peregrines, lynx and other
animals because people have given through the checkoff.
"It
is gratifying to see the generosity of Coloradans despite
the economic times," added Nelson.
The
current edition of the checkoff will help fund the continuing
reintroduction and tracking of the Canada lynx, a native
Colorado cat that once occupied higher elevations in the
state. The DOW reintroduced 96 lynx to the state in 1999
and 2000, and will use checkoff funding to release another
50 this spring to help the population take hold. The intensive
monitoring and research done by Colorado biologists has
written the textbook on lynx biology and recovery.
During
the 2001 tax year, 42,622 Coloradans checked the Nongame
and Endangered box on their state income tax form, donating
more than $462,000, according to the Colorado Department
of Revenue. In 2000, 53,000 Coloradans donated $590,000
through the checkoff. Taxpayers designate the amount they
want to donate when they check the box.
Checkoff
money often is used as match to secure additional funding
such as lottery funds through Great Outdoors Colorado
and federal grants.
Colorado
was the first state in the nation to create the checkoff
fund for threatened and endangered species management.
Since it began in 1977, more than half a million Colorado
residents have donated more than $11 million to help nongame,
threatened and endangered species.
Before
the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Fund was created,
the DOW received little outside funding for species conservation
work. In 1977, the total operating budget for such projects
was about $125,000. Today, about $5.5 million of the Division
of Wildlife's budget goes toward species conservation.
Most of that money comes from lottery proceeds through
Great Outdoors Colorado, federal grants and the Nongame
and Endangered Wildlife Fund.
Division
of Wildlife http://wildlife.state.co.us
This news article may be found online at
http://www.dnr.state.co.us/news/press.asp?pressid=2208.