NATIONAL
ESTUARY
PROGRAM
LICENSE PLATE REVENUE GENERATES MILLIONS
A specialty vehicle license plate revenue program in Florida delivered more than $4 million to the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program during its
first seven years, and now generates about $400,000 per year, providing a sustainable source of continuing funding.
THE NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM IN ACTION
Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program
Indian River Lagoon National Es-
tuary Program (IRLNEP), spon-
sored by the St. Johns River Wa-
ter Management District, led the
development and management
of the program, supported by
12,000 vehicle owners and dedi-
cated stakeholders. Their suc-
cess is a lesson in strategic col-
laboration that can be transferred
and adapted to community-
based programs elsewhere:
• Petitions identify a support
base. IRLNEP collected petitions
(with the help of McDonald's
franchises located throughout
the watershed) containing the
signatures of 12,000 registered
Florida vehicle owners who
agreed they would purchase the
specialty plate when available.
• Elected officials get on the
team. Endorsements from con-
stituents helped position the
program with regional elected
officials who agreed to sponsor
a bill to create the specialty plate
in both the House and Senate in
an upcoming legislative session.
• It takes money to make money.
With so much positive support,
IRLNEP felt confident in paying a
$15,000 one-time administra-
tion fee to the Florida Depart-
ment of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
and investing the time to develop
the short and long-term market-
ing strategies that were required
by the DMV.
But all of that start-up work was
only the beginning of the out-
reach effort, as the IRLNEP would
also be responsible for promo-
tion of the license plate program
and for management of the grant
program that would be support-
ed by the revenues. The team
was able to secure several cor-
porate partners who would be
essential to the effort. The An-
heuser Busch Corporation do-
nated $15,000 to help pay for
the production and labor costs of
more than 70 billboard adver-
tisements, and the Florida Out-
door Advertising Association do-
FLORIDA
EFFECTIVE
EFFICIENT
ADAPTIVE
COLLABORATIVE
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nated $60,000 worth of billboard
advertising space. For three
months, a local car dealership
helped seed the program by pro-
viding all new car buyers with
Indian River Lagoon license
plates.
For each Lagoon license plate
sold or renewed, IRLNEP re-
ceives $15 and, of that, at least
80 percent of the proceeds are
used to support stormwater ret-
rofit and/or habitat restoration
projects, with up to 20 percent
allocated to environmental edu-
cation projects focusing on the
lagoon. License plate revenues
do not support salaries, studies,
or other administrative costs.
Habitat restoration projects sup-
ported by the license plate pro-
gram have included the
reconnection of impounded salt
marshes, shoreline stabilization,
spoil island and mangrove resto-
ration, and stormwater treat-
ment retrofits.
Environmental education proj-
ects have included exhibits, vid-
eos, and support for lagoon
learning centers.
Competition from more than 100
other specialty license plate de-
signs offered for sale in Florida
has been fierce, but the strength
of the IRLNEP license plate de-
sign, combined with a strategic
marketing campaign, has the la-
goon plate ranked at number 17
on the list of specialty plates
available. The design features a
snook—a local fish—which ap-
peals to a niche market of an-
glers throughout the state. Plus,
current marketing strategies in-
clude direct mail promotions to
plate owners, with targeted ad-
vertising in regional and state-
wide angler magazines.
Visit www.sjrwmd.com/its
yourlagoon to learn more about
this and other IRLNEP efforts.
EPA's National Estuary Program
(NEP) is a unique and successful
coastal watershed-based program
established in 1987 under the
Clean Water Act Amendments.
The NEP involves the public and
collaborates with partners to pro-
tect, restore, and maintain the wa-
ter quality and ecological integrity
of 28 estuaries of national signifi-
cance located in 18 coastal states
and Puerto Rico.
For more information about the
NEP go to www.epa.gov/owow/
estuaries.
The NEP: Implementing the Clean Water Act in ways that are Effective, Efficient, Adaptive, and Collaborative.
EPA-842F09001
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