If You Enjoy Iowa Wildlife, Check It and Protect It
by Joe Wilkinson
Posted: February 26, 2008

Another blast of winter air. Yet another layer of snow. If you have a few bird feeders in the yard, you probably notice a crowd around them. You trudge through the snow restocking each with seed and suet. It helps the birds get through another day.

Still, perhaps the most 'wildlife friendly' thing you can do this winter occurs inside. That would be checking the box marked Fish & Wildlife Fund, as you prepare your income taxes this winter. That checkoff (shown only as Fish/Wildlife on line 13 of the 'short' form, but Fish & Wildlife Fund on line 58A on the 'longer' 1040) designates funding for the Wildlife Diversity Program, within the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

These are the songbirds, amphibians, reptiles, butterflies and other 'nongame' species which often fall through the cracks, when it comes to wildlife management and research. Hunting and fishing license revenue and excise fees on sales of everything from firearms to fishing tackle benefit overall game populations. Purchase of vital habitat, research into what can improve their numbers, enforcement of fish and game laws...and much more...come through those sources.

Nongame species, on the other hand are the weak siblings, so to speak, in the fight for funding, attention and other benefits. That's why the checkoff-originally known as the Chickadee Checkoff-was established more than 20 years ago. Trumpeter swans and peregrine falcons are a couple of the high profile success stories; with numbers and habitat restored over time.

But that checkoff, which supports more than 500 species that are not hunted or fished, is in trouble. In the early years, Iowa taxpayers chipped in $200,000 even $220,000 in a tax year. That had dipped to about $140,000 over the last few years. Last winter, contributions from the 2006 tax year dropped to $107,000. "There are a number of reasons, we think, for the drop in contributions," assesses Doug Harr, coordinator of t he Iowa DNR's Wildlife Diversity Program. "There are more checkoffs on the income tax form. People only have so much money they are willing to earmark. As more choices are added, they all tend to drop."

In past years, colorful posters went out to tax preparation offices across the state, with a pitch to ask customers to contribute. Now, many don't even ask the question, unless the customer brings it up. "Some tax preparers charge by the line," notes Harr. "If it's going to cost another dollar or two just to contribute, that's a hindrance." Online tax programs have become very popular. The one Harr uses prompts him at the checkoff; probably recognizing earlier contributions. "If I'm a taxpayer using the program for the first time," he asks, "how would I know what to do, if it doesn't prompt me?"

There is a boost provided by that portion of the state's chickadee, pheasant and bald eagle license plates; the 'REAP' plates. That can provide a match for federal wildlife grants. Those grants are earmarked for specific projects, though, not the day to day expenses. That makes it hard to get help to the species which need it most. For every trumpeter swan or river otter (now recovered to the point it is classed as a 'game' animal) that makes headlines or ends up on TV, there are dozens of grassland songbirds, salamanders, darters and butterflies that feed on the crumbs from the funding table. Their habitats are often in trouble, too; wetlands, grasslands which are disappearing or dropping in quality.

"There is still time to make a difference," underscores Harr, with most Iowans rounding up their receipts, forms and other data needed to tackle their 2007 returns.

Who Gives?
The average contributor to Iowa's Fish & Wildlife Fund is a middle-aged, urban resident. "From 2001 through 2006, the average person who contributed was in the age group 51 to 55 years old," says Stephanie Shepherd, with the DNR's Wildlife Diversity Program. "In 'second' place are the 46 to 50 year olds followed by those 56 to 60."

Polk County, with the largest population in the state, listed 2,655 taxpayers as contributing $27,519...over one-fourth of the total 2006 tax year donations to the Fish and Wildlife Fund. The top five counties accounted for nearly 72 percent of the total.

Southeast Iowa...Amphibian, Reptile Hot Spot
With the confluence of two major rivers, eventually flowing into the Mississippi River, wildlife diversity biologists are focusing a lot of attention on the state's first Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Area (ARCA).

"It takes in much of the lower Iowa and Cedar rivers, and below their junction, part of the Mississippi. All maps and data show it as the hot spot for herpetology (the science of amphibians and reptiles)," explains DNR Wildlife Diversity coordinator Doug Harr.

The area of about 450,000 acres of mostly flood plain will be subject to studies to learn more about salamanders, frogs, turtles, snakes and a wide variety of other 'herps.' The studies hope to identify the best ways to manage and protect the habitat for those species. Right now, little is known about them. The multi-agency effort will work with private landowners when ever possible, as well as the core of public land through the region.

The effort is similar to those in several Bird Conservation Areas (BCAs) in Iowa. Harr learned just a week ago, that it not only is a 'first' in Iowa...but is the first certified ARCA in the country.

• For additional information: Give a Few Dollars for Wildlife