The Chronicle
Last Tuesday, the state Department of Licensing began selling a fresh haul of wild steelhead-themed license plates.
The new license plate design was put together by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in an effort to raise money to support conservation efforts for the federally protected fish.
During a signature collection effort in 2016 that was required in order to seek legislative approval for the new license plates, the WDFW found more than 4,000 people who expressed interest in purchasing the eye-catching specialty plates. The signature gathering process took only about five weeks, but turning the original smolt of an idea into a full-fledged steelhead plate was a process that took a year and a half.
“We can’t wait to see steelhead license plates on vehicles across this state,” said Kelly Cunningham, deputy assistant director of WDFW’s Fish Program, in a press release. “This is a great way to help fund efforts to conserve steelhead in Washington.”
In most areas of Washington, wild steelhead are listed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act. In those waters, the harvest of wild steelhead is not permitted, and the WDFW has undertaken numerous measures intended to help recover those native populations to sustainable measures. Those actions include fishery regulations and management, hatchery operations, monitoring and habitat restoration work.
The pressed tin steelhead license plates will cost between $54 and $72 to begin with, depending on the type of vehicle. On Thursday, a representative at the Department of Licensing office in Chehalis said that no one had come in to purchase the plates as of yet.
Cunningham was unsure how much money from each plate sold would make it back to actual steelhead work, noting that revenue and sales are expected to be slightly depressed in the first year.
“I know the first year we’re not going to see as much revenue as we will in years to come. There’s some up-front costs,” explained Cunningham. “What I can tell you is after we cover those upfront costs in the first year we’re going to get about $265,000 per year in the coffers to help the department.”
Cunningham noted that the actual figure is subject to change depending on the number and variety of plates sold each year. He added that sales of the specialty plates may start off slow since people are inclined to wait until their current license plate expires before purchasing a new one.
Additional information on purchasing the specialty automobile plates can be found online at http://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicleregistration/specialdesign.html.
