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Check-off for wildlife on Idaho tax returns

Phil Cooper/Special to the Press | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years, 5 months AGO
by Phil Cooper/Special to the Press
| February 5, 2015 8:00 PM

Like it or not, the time is here to start completing 2014 tax returns. The new computer tax programs have helped, but it is still a major chore.

Preparing tax returns takes a significant amount of time. Unless you are receiving a nice refund, it is not much fun spending your time organizing and completing all the required paperwork.

The taxes we pay provide funds for many of the services and programs provided by federal and local government agencies. Police departments, fire departments, public schools, and many other essential services receive funding from taxpayers.

It comes as a surprise to many people when they hear the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the agency which manages all of the wildlife in the state, is not financed by income taxes, property taxes or sales taxes.

Fish and Game is funded through license and tag sales paid by hunters, anglers and trappers; and excise taxes those same people pay on hunting and fishing equipment.

Those who hunt, fish and trap pay for the management of wildlife in Idaho. They (we) even pay to manage species that are not hunted, fished or trapped.

In 2014, retail sales of wildlife related recreation equipment in Idaho produced more than $100 million in Idaho sales tax revenue for the state general fund. Yet, Fish and Game does not receive any money from the state general fund.

At no cost to Idaho taxpayers who do not buy a hunting or fishing license, Fish and Game employs 112 conservation officers who enforce all of the laws of the state of Idaho. They focus on enforcing wildlife laws, but they enforce all state laws.

At no cost to the Idaho general fund, Fish and Game manages 365,000 acres of state land and 32 wildlife management areas, provides and maintains 350 boating and fishing access sites, and plants 32 million fish a year in more than 600 lakes and streams.

If you do not financially support the management of wildlife in Idaho by buying a hunting, fishing, or trapping license (or, even if you do); there is a way you can voluntarily support wildlife programs.

When you prepare your state income taxes, a check-off on line 33 of the state tax form allows you to choose to voluntarily contribute.

Contributions collected through the check-off are used to benefit non-game wildlife, those species which are not hunted, hooked or trapped. Taxpayers can choose to voluntarily reduce their tax refund, or add a contribution to the tax amount they owe. The amount donated is determined by the individual taxpayer.

Although nongame wildlife make up 80 percent of all Idaho wildlife species, Fish and Game spends most of the license fees paid by hunters and anglers on game species.

Contributing to the nongame wildlife check-off is a way for all Idahoans, whether they are hunters, anglers or wildlife watchers (or a combination of all three) to provide something for the wildlife they enjoy.

Voluntary contributions through the nongame tax check-off are used to fund a variety of projects including research on nongame species, wildlife viewing site development, and wildlife based educational programs.

In general, the contributions help manage nongame species through gaining a better understanding of their habitats and life cycles, or through education which expands public appreciation of and knowledge about the nongame wildlife resources in the state.

Idaho's expanding population increases challenges of maintaining nongame wildlife populations and their habitats.

Contributing to the tax check-off is a way for all Idahoans to help biologists understand the particular needs of nongame species and hopefully prevent the need to list additional species as endangered.

Other ways to help the nongame and watchable wildlife programs in Idaho include sending voluntary donations to the Nongame Wildlife Trust Fund, P.O. Box 25, Boise, ID 83707; and, purchasing the special wildlife license plates for motor vehicles. A portion of the cost of the special wildlife license plates goes to Fish and Game.

This year when you prepare your state income tax form, please consider a donation to benefit nongame wildlife and enter a number of your choosing on line 33 of Idaho Tax Form 40. By doing so you can contribute to the management of Idaho's wildlife even if you don't hunt, fish or trap.

Phil Cooper is a wildlife conservation educator in Coeur d'Alene for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

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