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Maine Endangered and Nongame Wildlife Fund

Conservation Plate Bumper Sticker

Loon Conservation License Plate

Maine's Endangered and Nongame Wildlife Fund needs your help!

In 1983, the State Legislature created the Maine Endangered and Nongame Wildlife Fund by adding a check-off option to the state income tax form. Maine citizens responded generously, and the Maine Endangered Species Program was established.  For a decade, except for limited federal dollars, contributions via the "chickadee check-off" were the only source of funding for endangered species conservation in Maine. 

Then, in 1994, the "loon license plate" conservation registration was initiated, from which a portion of the proceeds go directly into the Endangered and Nongame Wildlife Fund. In its first two years, more than 80,000 loon plates were sold! Both the tax check-off and the loon plate allow people to donate directly to endangered species and other nongame wildlife management programs in Maine.

All money donated to the Fund, whether through the tax check-off, car registrations, grants, or direct gifts, is deposited into a special, interest-bearing account, from which money can only be spent on the conservation of Maine's endangered and nongame species. 

Thanks to generous contributions from Maine citizens, the chickadee check-off and the loon plate have supported  work on many of Maine's rare, threatened, endangered and nongame wildlife species.  Here are just a few examples of projects they have funded:

• Population surveys, habitat protection and research on the effects of pollution on bald eagles
• Studies to determine the population status, habitat requirements and conservation needs of Blanding's and spotted turtles
• Population surveys, protection of nesting colonies and habitat protection for piping plovers, least terns and roseate terns
• Research into the population status and habitat needs of the Tomah mayfly
• Biological and Conservation Data System: MDIFW maintains information about the status and occurrences of all Maine's rare and endangered wildlife species in a nationally standardized, comprehensive database
• Town planning (Beginning with Habitat): Beginning with Habitat (BwH), one of the most important initiatives undertaken by MDIFW in cooperation with several other agencies and organizations, is focusing on conservation of wildlife habitats in southern and central Maine. This project is based on a landscape, or regional, model developed with the assistance of the University of Maine Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit. The foundation of our approach is to encourage towns to 1) conserve riparian habitats through effective implementation of current Shoreland Zoning regulations, 2) conserve identified special animal and plant habitats (natural communities and rare plant locations) through resource protection zoning and other conservation tools, and 3) maintain large blocks of forest and grassland habitats by taking action to maintain rural areas and encourage concentration of developed areas. 
• Waterfowl and wading bird habitat mapping
• The Freshwater Mussels of Maine.  Freshwater mussels are among the most endangered groups of organisms in North America with over half of the continent's fauna declining or threatened with extinction. Maine isn't faring much better with 5 of its 10 mussel species state-listed as either threatened or special concern. MDIFW recently completed a comprehensive statewide inventory of watersheds and published the results in an informative, attractive color atlas (available to the public from IF&W's online store). 
• Maine's Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. This informative and beautifully illustrated book is the first and only comprehensive guide to all 49 Maine animals on state and federal endangered species lists. Two full pages for each species describe the animal's life history and conservation. The book also covers the history and policies behind the Maine Endangered Species Act, describes the causes of species decline, explains the listing process, and offers some overall actions that can help conserve listed species. This valuable outreach tool was sent to all of Maine's public schools and is available from IF&W's online store.
• Best Management Practices for Harvesting Timber Around Vernal Pools. Vernal Pools provide a unique, fishless habitat for several species of woodland amphibians, rare turtles, and other species. MDIFW worked closely with the University of Maine, Maine Audubon Society, and the forest industry to develop voluntary guidelines for conserving these special habitats during forest management operations. Forest landowners interested in learning more about methods for identifying and protecting vernal pools on their property should request a copy of the guidelines from the Department's Information Center (207-287-8000).
• The Maine Damselfly and Dragonfly Survey. One of the first of its kind in the nation, this atlasing effort enters its 5th and final year in 2003. Results have exceeded expectations, with large numbers of volunteers now well-versed in the ecology of these winged jewels while contributing valuable records of both rare and common species statewide. Further description can be found in the Wildlife Division Research and Management Report and from the weblink: http://mdds.umf.maine.edu/~odonata.
• Peregrine falcon reintroduction. More than 35 nations have participated in peregrine recovery - truly a worldwide initiative, but Maine's participation was made possible by contributions to the Endangered and Nongame Wildlife Fund.

Special thanks are due to the thousands of Maine people who generously contribute to the Maine Endangered and Nongame Wildlife Fund each year!

Chickadee Check-off

Already on a slow decline, income from the chickadee check-off dropped dramatically (40-50%) in 1998, when the check-off was unexpectedly moved from the primary tax form to a supplemental form. Income in 2004 remained at a greatly reduced level, when only 0.06% of taxpayers contributed. Participation rates have steadily declined from highs of over 5% in the mid-1980's to 1.5-2.0% just prior to moving the check-off to the supplemental form (see table below). However, average donations have increased steadily from $4-$5 in the 1980's to over $13.00 in 2004. If contribution levels could be increased to the 3-4% range, income from the check-off would increase to $221,098 - $294,408 at current average levels of giving. This could provide substantial increases for nongame and endangered species programs.

Loon Conservation License Plate

The loon license plate has been very successful, but competition with the general issue chickadee plate, introduced in July, 1999, has significantly reduced this important source of funding. Loon plate sales rose from nearly 60,000 in 1994 to over 110,000 in 1998, providing MDIFW with up to $617,000 annually for nongame and endangered wildlife projects. Residents pay a $15 annual renewal for this conservation plate, of which $5.60 is returned to MDIFW and $8.40 to the Bureau of Parks and Lands. Maine experienced one of the highest participation rates nationally for conservation license plates with about 13% of eligible vehicles registered as loon plates. However, the introduction of the chickadee plate resulted in about a 20% decline in sales of the loon plate (see table below). Revenue to MDIFW has continued to drop with an additional 22% decline in sales by 2004. In a recent legislative session, many new license plate designs were introduced - all of which could further reduce revenues from the loon plate.

A history of income derived from the "chickadee check-off" and loon plate to benefit nongame and endangered wildlife programs.
Year	Chickadee Checkoff				Loon License Plate
	Total Given	Number of Givers	Average Donation	Percent of Taxpayers Giving	Income to MDIFW	Number of Registrations
1984	$115,794	25,322	$4.57	5.3%
1985	$129,122	29,200	$4.42	6.0%
1986	$112,319	26,904	$4.17	5.4%
1987	$114,353	26,554	$4.31	5.2%
1988	$103,682	24,972	$4.15	4.8%
1989	$93,803	20,322	$4.62	3.6%
1990	$88,078	18,332	$4.80	3.2%
1991	$92,632	19,247	$4.81	3.4%
1992	$95,533	18,423	$5.18	3.2%
1993	$82,842	15,943	$5.20	2.8%
1994	$84,676	10,863	$7.79	2.0%	$335,042	59,829
1995	$81,775	10,014	$8.17	1.8%	$457,307	81,662
1996	$90,939	11,024	$8.25	2.0%	$535,679	95,657
1997	$77,511	8,686	$8.92	1.5%	$588,364	105,065
1998	$48,189	4,065	$11.85	0.7%	$617,484	110,265
1999	$47,908	3,775	$12.69	0.7%	$569,610	101,716
2000	$44,496	3,297	$13.50	0.6%	$499,486	89,194
2001	$49,348	3,713	$13.29	0.6%	$458,057	81,796
2002	$50,412	3,661	$13.77	0.6%	$446,342	79,704
2003	$55,348	3,792	$14.60	0.6%	$425,147	75,919
2004	$43,158	3,234	$13.35	0.6%	$402,695	69,615
2005	$36,769	2,931	$12.54	0.5%	$381.948	67,814

The following are just some examples of projects that won't be completed without further funding from the Endangered and Nongame Wildlife Fund:

• Seabird restoration on Outer Green Island
  
• Geographic Variation in Loon Productivity across Northern Maine
  
• Risk Assessment of Saltmarsh Passerines to Mercury Contamination
  
• Town planning (Beginning with Habitat) needs continued funding to maintain the program
  
• Golden eagle recovery.  Once more common in Maine, the golden eagle now bears the unfortunate distinction as the rarest breeding bird in Maine, and the eastern U.S.  Golden eagles are not recognized as a listed species by the federal government. Therefore, several eastern states that list them as endangered must use their own resources. For a state such as Maine, limited state revenues are inadequate to embark upon a meaningful restoration effort. An important limiting factor, the lingering influence of environmental contaminants, cannot be adequately evaluated due to considerable analytical costs. These data would be fundamental to guiding species recovery for golden eagles in the Northeast.
  
• Ecoregional rare species surveys. Since 1997, MDIFW and the Maine Natural Areas Program have been working on a systematic, statewide, 10-year survey of rare and endangered wildlife, plants, and natural communities. This survey is designed to document new locations of threatened, endangered, and special concern species. Data collected are being used to better assess the status and distribution of rare species and design conservation strategies to promote their recovery.  We hope to continue ecoregional surveys for the next 4 to 6 years. Future work will encompass the remainder of the state, from eastern Aroostook County to the western mountains.
  
• Blanding's turtle recovery in southern Maine. There is no group of organisms in Maine for which roads represent a more serious threat to long-term population viability than turtles, and no place more threatening than southern York County where road density and traffic volumes reach their peak. This study will help identify key road segments that fragment remaining populations of Blanding's turtles and identify mitigation strategies to help turtles cross roads safely.
• Maine Butterfly Atlas. With over 110 species native to Maine, butterflies contribute a colorful and conspicuous component to our state’s biological diversity. Many neighboring states and provinces have compiled updated atlases of their butterfly fauna, but despite increasing public interest in butterfly watching and conservation, Maine has little baseline information on the group. A statewide atlas for butterflies would increase public awareness of invertebrate conservation in general and help the Department prioritize survey and management efforts on the state's rarest and most threatened butterfly species.

Here's how you can help Maine's Endangered and Nongame Wildlife!

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