Indiana Ducks Unlimited License Plate Available Now

Ducks Unlimited leaders want Indiana residents to know that the new DU license plate is available for purchase at Bureau of Motor Vehicles locations across the state.

“There has been some confusion about the plate’s availability due to proposed legislation,” said DU State Chairman Curt Lee.

“The plate has been available since January. Every plate purchased supports habitat conservation in Indiana, which has wetlands that rival any state in the nation.”

Indiana Senate Bill 327 would have eliminated the Indiana DU license plate, which generates funds for wetlands conservation in the state. State Rep. Ed Soliday pulled the measure, which was designed to curb the expansion of specialty plates, during a Wednesday evening legislative session.

Indiana’s specialty plate program allows qualified nonprofit groups to reap $25 from the $40 purchase price of plates to support organizational activities. DU puts that money directly into Indiana conservation.

“What people might not understand about resources like these is how important they are to an organization,” said Joe Borders, regional director for Ducks Unlimited. “At DU, these dollars are available to use as match funds for much larger grants. For every dollar we raise we generally put four more into on-the-ground projects.”

Hoosiers who enjoy outdoor recreation have benefited from DU members’ fundraising efforts. In 2011 alone, the group completed 20 projects conserving 569 acres, as well as providing nearly 6,000 acres of technical assistance and investing $479,471 in Indiana wetland habitats.

Ducks Unlimited

Ducks Unlimited is the world's leader in wetlands and waterfowl conservation. DU got its start in 1937 during the Dust Bowl when North America’s drought-plagued waterfowl populations had plunged to unprecedented lows. Determined not to sit idly by as the continent’s waterfowl dwindled beyond recovery, a small group of sportsmen joined together to form an organization that became known as Ducks Unlimited. Its mission: habitat conservation. Thanks to decades of abiding by that single mission, Ducks Unlimited is now the world’s largest and most effective private waterfowl and wetlands conservation organization. DU is able to multilaterally deliver its work through a series of partnerships with private individuals, landowners, agencies, scientific communities and other entities.