SALEM – Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials today reminded Oregonians who want to help conserve the state’s non-game species and their habitats to contribute to the Non-game Wildlife Fund by checking the box on their state income tax form this year.

Established by the Oregon Legislature in 1979, the Non-game Wildlife Fund supports conservation efforts for the 88 percent of Oregon’s wildlife species that are not hunted, fished or trapped. Since its inception the fund has helped:

• recover the American bald eagle, peregrine falcon and western snowy plover from the brink of extinction;
• develop conservation programs for countless sensitive species including the western pond turtle, Willamette Valley grassland birds, yellow-legged frog, Townsend's big-eared bat and white-headed woodpecker;
• improve wildlife habitats on both private and public lands; and,
• provide opportunities to watch, photograph, study and appreciate wildlife in their natural setting.

The ODFW Wildlife Diversity Program manages Oregon's non-game fish and wildlife, including 37 threatened and endangered species and 121 sensitive species. Wildlife Diversity Program staff use Non-game Wildlife Fund checkoff donations to apply for matching federal funds, which multiplies the dollars used for all non-game programs. Last year approximately two-percent of Oregon taxpayers donated a total of $117,000 to the fund.

"One of our key goals is to prevent sensitive species from becoming threatened or endangered. If we can do that, it's less costly in the long run and everyone benefits," said Martin Nugent, Wildlife Diversity Program manager. "Checkoff funds can help us put resources in the field, apply for matching federal funds and work with our many wildlife conservation partners to accomplish this goal."

For more information, visit the ODFW Web site at www.dfw.state.or.us, or contact any local ODFW office.