DES MOINES – Last year, roughly 8,000 Iowa taxpayers helped boost wildlife conservation with donations to the Fish and Wildlife Fund on their state tax form. This marks the fourth straight year donations to the fund have increased, a trend that Stephanie Shepherd, DNR Wildlife Diversity Biologist, hopes to continue in 2015.
“The amount Iowans are donating to the fund is growing after a 10-year downward trend,” said Shepherd. “Those donations go directly to research and habitat development for some of Iowa’s most vulnerable animal species, so the funds are very important for natural resources.”
Iowans donated $136,000 last spring when completing their 2013 tax forms, which is a 2 percent increase from 2012 returns and an almost 25 percent increase since the low point in 2009.
The Fish and Wildlife Fund, known popularly as the “Chickadee Check-off,” is a mechanism the Iowa Legislature created in the 1980s for Iowans to donate to wildlife conservation on the Iowa state tax form. Before the Chickadee Check-off, so called non-game wildlife had no dedicated funding.
At its height, Iowans donated more than $200,000 annually to the fund. The main reasons for the decline are unknown, but Shepherd said taxpayers need to be alert when filling out their form or working with a tax preparer.
“It is an inconspicuous line that is easy to pass over or forget, and many tax preparers may not remember to ask whether a client wants to donate,” she said. “It may be up to the taxpayer to remind their preparer, or make a point of looking for it, whether they are doing their form on paper or electronically.”
Donating on the tax form is easy: simply write the amount to donate next to the Fish and Wildlife Check-Off, line 55A on Form 1040, and the sum is either automatically deducted from the refund or added to the amount owed. As with all charitable contributions, the amount is deductible from next year’s taxes.
“Currently only about half of one percent of Iowans donate,” said Shepherd. “If every Iowa taxpayer donated just $1, it would mean $1.5 million for wildlife and natural resource conservation. Our goal for 2015 is for more people to find the check off on their tax form, and to increase donations by 10 percent. It could be accomplished.”
All proceeds from the check-off support the Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Diversity program, responsible for protecting more than 1,000 fish and wildlife species in the state. Money helps improve wildlife habit, fund research studies, support the reintroduction of threatened or endangered species, and much more.
