Colorado Parks and Wildlife is awarding $50,000 to recipients of the inaugural Born to Be Wild License Plate Grant Program to promote the state’s Born to Be Wild speciality license plates.
“With the beautiful Born to Be Wild license plate, Coloradans can help support the important work happening to reduce human-wildlife conflict. We appreciate the work of these organizations, as well as the bill sponsors who made this possible.” – Governor Jared Polis
The Rocky Mountain Wolf Project and The Endangered Species Coalition were both selected to engage and educate the public on the importance of the license plate and increase sales to further support conflict mitigation efforts.
The special “Born to Be Wild” plates were created in 2023 by Colorado House Bill 23-1265, raising nearly $950,000 from around 18,000 sales to date for non-lethal mitigation of gray wolf conflicts. The program has helped to establish to CPW and CDA range rider program in addition to other mitigation efforts.
“This special license plate allows Colorado residents to support ranchers by providing funding to CPW for non-lethal conflict minimization tools and programs and programs. The hope is that this program will get the public engaged and increase overall sales of the license plate, in turn reducing impacts with livestock. These efforts help support the implementation of the state’s Wolf Restoration and Management Plan and CPW’s implementation of the sCPW tate statute to restore a self-sustaining gray wolf population, all while supporting rural ways of life and the robust livestock industry that is such a critical component of Colorado’s culture and economy.” – CPW Director Jeff Davis. “
CPW received 8 total applications and selected two organizations this year. The Rocky Mountain Wolf Project received $36,300 for promotional billboards and digital media mean to showcase the Born to Be Wild license plate while the Endangered Species Coalition received $13,700 for a promotional image wrapping on a vehicle set to travel across the state to special events and places like zoos to raise awareness.
