The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is asking you to think about wildlife as you finish up your state taxes. The DNR’s wildlife diversity coordinator, Doug Harr, says the number of people who’ve donated to the Fish and Wildlife Fund on their state tax forms has been dropping.
Harr says donations are down about 20-percent, the lowest they’ve been for quite some time. Harr says the fund used to be called the "Chickadee Check-off" and the change in name may be part of the reason donations have gone down. Harr says people might be confused as the money given to the Chickadee Checkoff went to the wildlife diversity fund, and he says it still does even with the name change. Harr says money donated to the checkoff helps all wildlife for which there is no hunting or fishing season. Harr says taxpayers make a donation by checking the box near the Fish and Wildlife Fund on line 59-A of their state taxes.
Harr says if you have a refund coming, you can designate a portion of the refund to go to the wildlife fund, or if you owe money, you can give additional money to the fund. Harr says there are some 550 species of non-game wildlife that benefit from the fund. Harr says the fund generates about 140-thousand dollars right now with the drop in contributions.