RALEIGH, N.C. (Jan. 24, 2019) — Donate to the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Fund (NGEWF), found on line 30 on the North Carolina state income tax form this year, and help the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission fund projects and programs that benefit sea turtles, songbirds, freshwater mussels and fish and other wildlife species without a designated hunting and fishing season.

The agency uses “tax check-off” donations to the NGWEF to support nongame wildlife research, conservation and management, such as monitoring populations of Bachman’s sparrows and bald eagles, managing habitat to benefit ephemeral pool-breeding amphibians like gopher frogs and mole salamanders, conducting research and surveys for rare fishes and freshwater mussels, and developing the North Carolina Birding Trail. 

Although tax check-off donations target projects benefiting nongame animals and their habitats, game species such as deer, turkey and bear also benefit because they live in many of these same habitats. Since the fund’s inception in 1984, taxpayers have donated more than $11 million to projects such as:

• Monitoring and inventorying for eastern hellbenders in western North Carolina to document the breeding habits of this elusive and large salamander;
• Restoring mussels and to the Cheoah and Pigeon rivers in western North Carolina;
• Enhancing populations of robust redhorse and sicklefin redhorse, two large imperiled fish;
• Restoring wetlands on the Sandhills Game Land to help increase populations of gopher frogs, tiger salamanders and other pond-breeding amphibians;
• Monitoring and surveying for state and federally listed coastal waterbirds and working with partners to post signs to ensure their safety on Commission-owned lands during the nesting season; and,
• Conducting mist-netting surveys of bats in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain to learn more about the abundance and distribution of bats, as well as the prevalence of white-nose syndrome in these areas.

Donations make up the largest and most significant source of non-federal funding to help these animals, so donations — no matter how small — are critical to the continuation of many projects.

“Whether it is $2 or $200, any amount of money that people can donate is greatly appreciated and goes a long way toward helping the agency match federal and other grants, as well as pay for educational activities and programs, such our birding trails, which are located throughout the state,” said Sara Schweitzer, the Commission’s Wildlife Diversity Program supervisor. “When we match grants using donations, we increase the dollars that we can spend on programs. For instance, if we receive a $100 donation, through grants we get an additional $185 that we use for a variety of programs and projects to protect our wildlife.”

While paper tax forms show line 30 as the donation line, tax preparation software, such as TurboTax, does not have numbered lines, but e-filers will be asked if they would like to make a donation to the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Fund. Other tax filers can also tell their tax preparer they would like to donate.

Tax season isn’t the only time or way to contribute to wildlife conservation. Other ways to help North Carolina’s wildlife and their habitats year-round are: 

• Registering a vehicle or trailer with a N.C. Wildlife Conservation license plate;
• Donating online at www.ncwildlife.org/give;

Learn more about the projects and programs Wildlife Commission staff conduct to benefit nongame and endangered wildlife by reading the agency’s Wildlife Diversity Program’s Quarterly Reports.