WYOMING — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) has announced a new design for its conservation license plates, featuring the pronghorn.
The license plates, which cost $180 with a $50 renewal fee every year, will raise funds to prevent wildlife-vehicle collisions; $150 from each plate sale will go to the Wildlife Conservation Fund, WGFD said in its announcement. Money will go toward construction of wildlife crossings, fencing and signage along migration corridors. The plates are available through the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT).
WGFD shared that the state has issued more than 3,000 conservation plates since launching the program in 2019, raising $968,820 for wildlife crossing projects.
“People in Wyoming take an amazing amount of pride in the diverse and abundant wildlife in our state,” WGFD Director Angi Bruce said in a statement. “The Wildlife Conservation License Plate supports a good cause and shows others that you are part of a movement of people who are making a difference for wildlife and humans.”
According to WGFD, wildlife-vehicle collisions accounted for “almost 16% of all reported traffic crashes in Wyoming” in 2023.
“WYDOT is a proud partner in this grassroots movement working to improve safety and maintain connectivity for humans and wildlife alike,” WYDOT Director Darin Westby said in a statement. “The support from public donations and nonprofit fundraising makes wildlife crossing projects unique for WYDOT, and it’s easy to support a project that has proven successful at reducing crashes.”
For those who own the previous style of conservation license plates (featuring the mule deer), WGFD notes that drivers will need to upgrade their plates to the new antelope plates. According to the announcement, WYDOT will send renewal notices to conservation plate holders based on their renewal dates, and those who possess plates with lower numbers will “have the opportunity to keep their current number.”
