Courtesy Photo/Michigan DNR A white Michigan license plate with Pure Michigan at top, a Kirtland's warbler illustration at left, and Conserve Wildlife Habitat at bottom.

Every species has a story. Thanks to the Michigan Nongame Fish and Wildlife Fund, several Michigan species are adding encouraging chapters on restoration and stabilization to theirs. In fact, the fund has helped recover the Kirtland’s warbler, trumpeter swan and osprey, and continues to fund conservation for pollinators, bats, amphibians and reptiles.

“When the fund was created in 1983, it had three main goals: to restore populations of endangered and threatened species through management and protection, to maintain present populations of animals and plants, and to promote appreciation and awareness of these species through education and first-hand opportunities to experience wildlife,” said DNR wildlife communications representative Rachel Lincoln.

One way to promote the fund and build more buzz about the plight of threatened and endangered species was the introduction, in 2006, of the wildlife habitat license plate. For the first time, Michigan residents could choose a plate (then featuring the common loon) that would both send a portion of their plate registration fee to the fund and allow them to publicly display, on their vehicles, support for wildlife conservation.

The Michigan Nongame Fish and Wildlife Fund was vital in bringing back trumpeter swans from near extinction, with habitat restoration and reintroductions between the late 1980s and early 2000s that helped the population recover to the point that the swans were removed from Michigan’s Threatened and Endangered Species List in 2022. It also supports ongoing critical conservation work for the northern long-eared bat, a species threatened by white-nose syndrome and habitat loss. This includes protective measures such as gating sensitive hibernation sites, surveying bats and developing a regional bat habitat conservation plan to minimize the impact of forest management activities.

Since 2006, the wildlife habitat license plate has raised over $4.8 million for the Nongame Fish and Wildlife Trust Fund. After the loon, the plate also has featured the elk and, currently, the Kirtland’s warbler.