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Check Line No. 27 on State Income Tax Form for Wildlife Conservation

RALEIGH, N.C. (Jan. 26, 2009) — Whether you hunt, fish or simply watch wildlife, you can help conserve North Carolina’s wildlife and their habitats by making a donation on your North Carolina income tax form. 

By donating a portion of your refund on line No. 27, you can help conserve nongame wildlife and their habitats. Nongame wildlife includes all the birds, mammals, fish, mollusks, reptiles, amphibians, and crayfish that do not have a designated hunting or fishing season. Although tax check-off donations target projects benefiting nongame animals and their habitats, game species such as deer, turkey and bear also benefit because they share many of these same habitats.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission uses tax check-off donations to the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Fund to support nongame wildlife research, conservation and management, such as monitoring the population of  red-cockaded woodpeckers and peregrine falcons, managing habitat to benefit bog turtles, surveying for gopher frogs, and developing captive breeding techniques for mussels for research and future restoration efforts.

Tax check-off donations are the largest and most significant non-federal source of funding for the Commission’s Wildlife Diversity Program and now, more than ever, your tax donations are needed.

“In the past, donations were matched with federal dollars on a 3:1 basis, which means for every donated dollar we received, we were able to match it with three federal dollars and devote four dollars to wildlife conservation,” said Chris McGrath, Wildlife Diversity Program Coordinator.  “However, last year, the matching federal dollars were reduced to a 1:1 match, which means that for every donated dollar the Commission receives, we now get only one dollar of matching federal money resulting in two dollars for conservation. 

“We’ve got to work twice as hard to make the same financial commitment to sustaining and providing for North Carolinians enjoyment of our wildlife.”

Tax season isn’t the only time to give to wildlife. Other ways to help North Carolina’s wildlife and their habitats year-round are: 

Projects supported through the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Fund affect more than 1,000 animals and their associated habitats across the state. A few projects that Commission biologists are conducting currently include:

  • A bog turtle conservation program in the mountains and upper Piedmont. With Project Bog Turtle, biologists are working to learn the status of this tiny turtle and conserve and restore the rare wetland habitats where it is found, along with many other wild animals, such as cottontail rabbits, common yellowthroats, and white-tailed deer;

  • An urban wildlife conservation project in the Piedmont, which has resulted in the Green Growth Toolbox. This project provides developers, planners and local governments the tools they need to direct development, such that it conserves important wildlife habitats and provides wildlife enthusiasts with areas they can go to connect with nature and view a rich diversity of wildlife — from songbirds to bats to wild turkeys;

  • A statewide assessment of heron and egret breeding populations.

  • Freshwater mussel surveys statewide. Freshwater mussels are one of our best indicators of water quality — healthy mussel populations are found in healthy waters. Commission biologists work with other state, federal and private agencies to monitor freshwater mussels and protect the water quality that is critical for their survival, as well as ours. 

For more information about these and other projects, click here.