CONSERVATION – The Backcountry Hunters & Anglers are the latest sportsmen’s group to take advantage of a Montana license plate program that benefits nonprofit groups.

“There’s quite a few plates with different designs to represent elk, deer and trout groups, so we jumped in late last year,” said Land Tawney, BHA president in Missoula.

A donor put up the money to design artwork for state approval. Consumers pay an extra $25 fee for the vanity plates that goes to the nonprofit group.

In the case of BHA, “The plate already has generated nearly $20,000, mostly by word of mouth,” Tawney said. The BHA license plate is in a catalog available at license dealers but it still hadn’t been included on the state’s licensing website as of last week.

“The money is helping pay for a chapter coordinator position to work on issues such as protecting rivers and programs that conserve land and provide public access.”

“It’s another way to create some awareness of what we’re doing and what needs to be done,” he said.