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ND Taxpayers "Check-Off" For Wildlife

In the 1988 tax year, North Dakota residents were given their first opportunity to voluntarily donate money to the state’s Watchable Wildlife fund. Patrick Isakson is a Conservation Biologist with the Game and Fish Department and is among those who oversee the program. He says the check-off will be an option for North Dakotans once again this year…

“…Generally we see somewhere between $15,000-to-$20,000 a year. I don’t know how many people that includes, but it’s generally right around that amount.”

Isakson says the funding goes toward smaller “in-house” projects and as matching funding for larger non-game work through-out the state…

“…It’s been an important part of our non-game program and in the inception of it, it was some of the only money we received for non-game work in the state. So it’s been really important over the years for our non-game work”

Isakson says the funding will prove useful this year to deal with non-game “endangered species” work. He says there are a number of species in North Dakota that could be listed as endangered and crews will be busy gathering information on those species.