Iowans who are preparing to file their 2016 taxes are being encouraged to consider donating to the state’s Wildlife Diversity program. Stephanie Shepherd is a wildlife biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

 

The Fish and Wildlife fund was instrumental in reestablishing the peregrine falcon population in Iowa and it’s now being tapped to spur the growth of the monarch butterfly. Iowans can donate through a checkoff on the 1040 tax form. The so-called Chickadee Checkoff was created by state lawmakers in 1981 and Shepherd says donations have dropped off from many years ago now to about one hundred thirty thousand dollars.

Last year, roughly 7,500 out of 1.6 million Iowa taxpayers made donations. Shepherd notes the checkoff is one of the last items on the 1040 tax form – at line 57.

 

Shepherd says the donation amount to the Fish and Wildlife fund has stayed roughly the same since 2010.