REAP eagle license plate
Two new license plates to help fund natural resources in the state will be made available to Iowa motorists this spring. Three current plates dedicated to the effort feature a goldfinch perched on a wild rose, a pheasant and a bald eagle.
Ross Harrison with the Iowa D.N.R. says revenue from the license plate sales is split between the Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) program and the Wildlife Diversity program.
Harrison says more than 800 species of nongame wildlife are supported by the Wildlife Diversity program. The two new license plates will be unveiled at the State Capitol Saturday morning. Both plates were designed by Cedar Rapids artist Greg Bordignon, who also created the pheasant and eagle plates.
Harrison says motorists who already have a natural resources specialty plate will be able to trade it in for one of the new designs for just $5. First time buyers of the specialty plates will pay $45 on top of registration costs. The annual renewal price is $25.
The three specialty plates currently sold generate about $1 million a year for natural resources. “I think the popularity of these two new designs will result in close to a doubling of the sales over the next two to three years,” Harrison said. “We’re hoping that it’ll generate another million dollars for conservation programs.”
The goldfinch/rose, pheasant and eagle plates outsell all of the state’s other specialty plates. Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge will reveal the new license plate designs in her address to the Resource Enhancement And Protection (REAP) Congress at 9 a.m. Saturday in the House chambers.