By Steve Weisman

It’s that time of year for those two hated words: tax time! For sure, it’s not a fun time. It’s simply a duty that needs to be completed.

On a positive note, on the Iowa State Tax form, there is a spot in Section 9: Tax Credits and Check-off Contributions, where we can choose to donate a specific dollar amount the Chickadee Check-off. Each dollar goes directly to Iowa’s Wildlife Diversity Program, which funds vital work for all non-game wildlife in the state. Non-game wildlife are the 1,000-plus species such as songbirds, bald eagles, salamanders, turtles, monarchs and bees and more that make up the majority of wildlife in Iowa. The Chickadee Check-off is one of the only funding sources for the Iowa DNR’s Wildlife Diversity program, which is responsible for these species.

It is really a pretty easy and painless way to help ensure that Iowa’s non-game wildlife can be both protected and enhanced by improving wildlife habit, restoring native wildlife, providing opportunities for citizens to learn about Iowa’s natural resources and much more. Why is this program needed? It’s really pretty simple. As humans, we continue to encroach upon and do things that endanger our wildlife. It is through the Chickadee Check-off and the Wildlife Diversity Program that we can help give wildlife a fighting chance.

The Chickadee Check-off story history

The Chickadee Check-off was established by the Iowa Legislature in 1981 to allow Iowans to contribute on the Iowa State Tax form to a fund set up for the conservation of over a 1000 species of wildlife in the state of Iowa. The fund is known as Iowa’s Wildlife Diversity Program.

Donations to the check-off  are tax deductible on the next year’s tax form. The check-off is on line 57 of Iowa Tax Form 1040, and it’s either automatically deducted from the refund or added to the amount owed.

Records show that one half of 1% of Iowa’s taxpayers donate to the Chickadee Check-off. Last year donations  amounted to a little under $150,000, which was an increase from the previous year. Stephanie Shepherd, wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Diversity program, says, “If every Iowa taxpayer donated just $1, it would mean $1.5 million for wildlife and natural resource conservation!” That would be an increase 10 times what is currently received.

Shepherd continues, “We are thankful for those who donated to wildlife conservation with their tax refunds as the funds go directly to habitat development and restoration programs for some of Iowa’s most vulnerable animal species.”

According to Shepherd, the Wildlife Diversity Program has this focus:

• Research & Surveys– provide important information about wildlife populations.
• Land acquisition– provide habitat for rare, endangered or declining species, and provide opportunities for wildlife appreciation.
• Education– foster appreciation for wildlife through public events and publications.
• Management– work with public land managers & private landowners to provide habitat for wildlife.
• Re-introductions– restore depleted native wildlife species to Iowa such as the Osprey, Peregrine Falcon, Trumpeter Swan, River Otter, and Greater Prairie-chicken.

Listed below are samples of recent and current projects:

• Monitoring frogs and toads, Bald Eagles, and colonial water birds through the Volunteer Wildlife Monitoring Program (VWMP).
• Developing and designating a statewide system of Bird Conservation Areas (BCAs).
• Multiple Species Inventory and Monitoring (MSIM) program. MSIM is a standardized, statewide survey that provides a basic inventory of Iowa’s wildlife. A baseline for long-term monitoring of IA wildlife populations.
• Leading Monarch Butterfly conservation efforts in Iowa and nationwide.
• Enhancing native remnant prairies and Wood Turtle stream habitat on public and private land.
• Partnering with ISU Wildlife Extension to create and publish a Guide to Iowa’s Mammals.
• Creating and implementing Iowa’s Wildlife Action Plan, a 30 year plan for wildlife diversity and habitat conservation in Iowa.
• Creating and implementing a Barn Owl Recovery Plan.

The nice thing about the Wildlife Diversity Program is that funds are used throughout the state of Iowa. According to Shepherd, “The Chickadee Check-off has enabled the DNR to accomplish a diversity of projects supporting Iowa’s non-game species. Over the years, Osprey, Peregrine Falcon, River Otters and Prairie Chickens have all been restored to the state thanks to the check-off.  We’ve taken a lead on conserving the Monarch butterfly not just in the state but regionally and nationally. A concerted effort has been made to inventory all the wildlife across the state with our Multiple Species Inventory and Monitoring project – the first inventory of its kind since the 1930s and which has documented several new species to the state.”

(photo by Jim Durbin) Pileated Woodpecker

(photo by Doug Harr) Pair of Trumpeter Swans

(photo by Bill Ohde) Monarch butterfly on an aster.

Redheaded Woodpecker

Osprey

Northern Flicker