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Fall 1995 |
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Order Your License Plate Today!
The sea otter &emdash; whose return from near extinction is one of the great conservation success stories of the 20th Century &emdash; will be featured on the commemorative license plate for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The winning design, showing the otter lying in a bed of kelp with the cliffs of Big Sur in the background, was designed by Boyd Tveit of Felton, California. Tveit's design won out over 135 other entries in a well-publicized competition.
"The otter is an appropriate choice for this plate," said Nick Papadakis, executive director of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG), which is managing the license plate project.
"The Sanctuary is everything to the sea otter," he continued. "Otters find food, shelter, and security in the Sanctuary. It is truly their refuge."
The commemorative license plate is being issued under legislation authored by State Senator Henry Mello, D-Watsonville. As with all California commemorative plates, 5000 paid orders must be received before the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will authorize the plates to be printed. The deadline for applications is the end of 1995, although an extension may be granted.
Sanctuary license plates cost $50 above normal registration fees the first year and $40 each additional year. The cost is almost entirely tax-deductible. Once the printing of the plates is paid for, the additional fees generated are divided evenly between the Sanctuary for its public education and information programs and the California environmental license plate fund, which receives a portion of the proceeds from all personalized and commemorative plates. The Sanctuary could benefit greatly from license plate sales; a plate for Yosemite National Park generated $600,000 in three years for the Yosemite Fund.
Application forms for the Sanctuary license plate are available at DMV and California State Automobile Association (CSAA) offices throughout Northern California and are also available at popular tourist spots such as state parks, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Santa Cruz boardwalk, and the Sanctuary office in Monterey. They may also be ordered by calling AMBAG at (408) 883-3750, or by writing AMBAG at P.O. Box 809, Marina, CA 93933-0809. The first 100,000 application forms and brochures were printed with funds from a grant provided by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
If you love the ocean and its creatures, you can show the
world you care by buying a Monterey Bay National Marine
Sanctuary license plate. And because the Sanctuary plate is
reasonably priced and supports such a good cause, please
consider giving one to a friend or relative as a gift!
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1999