Sale of conservation license plates up

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says sales of the special conservation license plates featuring the goldfinch and wild rose are up. D-N-R spokesman Ross Harrison says that’s encouraging, especially since the cost of the plates has gone up. The plates increase from 35 to 45 dollars to purchase and the renewal cost went up from 10 to 25 dollars. Harrison says the proceeds from the plate are directed to several conservation programs. He says that includes wildlife diversity issues for eagles and special wildlife that’s in need of help. He says it also goes into the REAP program for counties and cities and other conservation programs. Harrison says the D-N-R worked with county treasurers to promote the plates and also put a flyer in license renewal notices. He says that’s shown good results in some areas.He says some of the rural counties like Fremont, Montgomery and Appanoose showed a 20 percent increased. He says some of the urban counties like Scott, Woodbury and Pottawatamie counties have shown a 15-percent increase. Harrison says there are a lot of vehicles carrying these plates. He says there’s somewhere in the vicinity of 48-thousand of the plates — making it the most popular specialty plate. He says it’s more than the number of the specialty plates for the three state universities combined. For more information on the natural resource license plate, go to: www.iowareap.com.