Gov. Mitch Daniels says Hoosiers can help one of Indiana's rarest wildlife species when they file their state income taxes this year. The special checkoff on Line 35 of the state tax form allows taxpayers to donate a portion of their state tax refund to the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Fund, which helps fund the return of the bald eagle to Indiana.

"This is an important part of Indiana's wildlife heritage. Funding for conservation efforts for bald eagles and hundreds of other species increases when Hoosiers check the box on their tax form," Daniels said.

DNR director Robert E. Carter Jr. said the return of the bald eagle to Indiana - now 80 nesting pairs - is the most successful example of the program, and the more checkoffs on tax forms, the more matching federal funds become available for the program.

The Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Fund supports research and management activities for the state's estimated 750 species of birds, mammals, fish, mussels, reptiles and amphibians that traditionally are not pursued through hunting and fishing. In fact, nongame species make up more than 90 percent of the wildlife in Indiana.

The Indiana legislature established the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Fund in 1982. Operating solely on voluntary contributions, the fund has paved the way for reintroducing to the Indiana landscape such once-endangered species as the bald eagle, peregrine falcon and river otter.

The bald eagle, official icon of the nongame program, had been absent in the state since the late 1890s. The DNR launched a six-year restoration project in 1985 by releasing young eagles, and 20 years later, there are nearly 80 nesting pairs in the state.

"Peregrine falcons and river otters have had similar success stories, but there is still much work to be done," Carter said.

The DNR is working on a wide range of nongame species that need help - lake sturgeon, osprey, Franklin's ground squirrel, Allegheny woodrat - and the fund has been used to help purchase critical wildlife habitat at Pisgah Marsh in Kosciusko County, and Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area, an 8,000-acre wetlands complex in Greene County.

In addition to the tax checkoff, direct donations are another option for contributing to the Nongame Fund. For information, write to Nongame Fund, 402 W. Washington St., Room W273, Indianapolis, IN, 46204, or visit endangeredwildlife.IN.gov.