Donate part of your state tax refund to help wildlife

New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
Public contact, Information Center: (888) 248-6866
Media contact: Dan Williams: (505) 476-8004
dan.williams@state.nm.us

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, APRIL 4, 2018:

Donate part of your state tax refund to help wildlife

SANTA FE – Want to help wildlife in need of conservation? It’s as easy as filing out a line on your state tax return to donate some of your tax refund to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Share with Wildlife program.

The Share with Wildlife program funds many projects and organizations, including the non-profit New Mexico Wildlife Center in Española, where sick and injured animals receive veterinary care, treatment and rehabilitation before being released back into the wild.

The program also funds research, including a study of the success of the North American river otter reintroduction effort that was conducted 2008-2010, and evaluation of the current size and health of the river otter population in New Mexico.

Another 2018 project involves assessing the reproductive success and survival rates of a turtle species currently under review for potential listing as a threatened or endangered species. Also funded this year is a project to study habitat associations and distribution of a species of chipmunk found only in mountain ranges in southeastern New Mexico.

“People who contribute to the Share with Wildlife program make all these wildlife projects possible,” said Ginny Seamster, the department’s Share with Wildlife program coordinator. Donations to the program are matched by federal dollars to maximize the effort. More than $1.5 million has gone to research, habitat enhancement, education and rehabilitation projects in the past 10 years. Many of those projects benefit nongame species in need of conservation. All donations fund projects, not program administration.

The program is reliant upon donations, especially through tax refund contributions. To donate part of your state tax refund, just fill out line t2 of PIT-D, the voluntary contributions schedule. Visit the state Taxation and Revenue Department at www.tax.newmexico.gov for tax forms and instructions.

Donations also can be made directly to the program or by purchasing a Share with Wildlife license plate. Please visit the department website, www.wildlife.state.nm.us/share for more information, or contact Seamster at (505) 476-8111 or virginia.seamster@state.nm.us.