Go wild, and weigh in on new critical habitat plates

In a state teeming with wildlife, it's hard to pick a favorite.

But the Department of Natural Resources is asking the public to help it select four new "critical habitat" license plate designs from eight images.

The four plates will be offered to motorists later this year in addition to the current loon and deer designs, which will be retained as long as they continue to sell.

But loon and white-tailed deer fans don't despair -- new images of those critters are among the eight designs the state is considering. The options: a showy lady-slipper, a northern Minnesota fishing scene, a white-tailed buck, a pheasant in flight, a black-capped chickadee, a walleye, a pair of loons and a wood duck.

"I was hoping to generate some excitement," said Mark Holsten, DNR commissioner. "We want to give people a broader opportunity to express themselves."

He'd like to offer motorists a choice of all eight plates, but that's not possible, so the agency would like to hear from the public on which they prefer.

The DNR has posted the plates on its website, (www.dnr.state.mn.us) where people can vote for their favorite through March 23. The vote is nonbinding because, by law, the decision must be made by the commissioners of the DNR and Department of Public Safety. The new plates will be available later this year.

The new loon plate may have the inside edge. The current loon plate outsells the deer plate by 3 to 1. But it's been years since motorists have had a new choice. The loon plate was released in 2002, and the original deer plate was issued in 1996. More than 100,000 motorists have plates, but sales have leveled off in recent years and Holsten said plate sales have fallen along with car sales during the economic crisis.

Officials hope new and varied images will boost sales.

Plans for a new plate depicting a fish fizzled two years ago. The DNR selected a "stylized" fish -- no specific species but resembling a cross between a bass and a walleye. The overwhelming response was negative, so the DNR went back to the drawing board and had the artist redo the art to a largemouth bass. But before those plates were produced, the DNR said plate technology here changed, allowing high-resolution printing on flat plates.

"That gave us more realistic and higher-quality images," said the DNR's C.B. Bylander. And the agency decided against asking artists to develop license plate art and decided to select designs themselves, he said.

Of the proposed eight new plates, six of the images are from photographs and two -- the pheasant and walleye -- are from paintings. "There are some nice options that go beyond the loon and deer," Bylander said. "We'll be interested in what people think."

Motorists who purchase the plates make a minimum annual contribution of $30 to the Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) Program. Those dollars are matched with private donations of cash or land. The plates produced more than $25 million toward the purchase of 7,700 acres of critical habitat and have helped fund nongame research and surveys, habitat enhancement and educational programs.