DES MOINES -- Iowa's natural resource license plate is enjoying new friends and supporters this year. Motorists in several counties with low support in the past are now among some of the biggest buyers of the goldfinch and wild rose plate.

So far this year, the state is showing a 2.5 percent increase in support for the special plate, compared to the same time last year, according to DOT sales figures analyzed by the DNR. Some of the more rural counties where the natural resource plate order rate has grown most are: Fremont, Montgomery, Crawford and Appanoose, each charting more than a 20 percent increase in support over last year. Currently, Iowa's top 10 supporting counties are Story, Winneshiek, Audubon, Johnson, Worth, Pottawattamie, Dickinson, Mitchell, Hardin and Shelby.

Many of the most populated counties are also showing an overall increase in support, with Scott, Woodbury, Johnson and Pottawattamie each showing more than a 15 percent increase in support.

DNR Director Jeff Vonk was pleased with the numbers. "There are several encouraging issues about plate sales: conservation is on the minds of Iowans across the entire state; despite an increase in license plate renewal fees, sales and support remain high. And lastly, both rural and urban areas are showing growth in plate ownership."

Money from the plate goes to the state's Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) Program and to wildlife diversity activities.

For more information on the natural resource license plate, go to www.iowareap.com, or contact the Wildlife Diversity Program at the Boone Wildlife Research Station (515) 432-2823.

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