Trout Unlimited is promoting a conservation license plate to raise money for brook trout habitat restoration. The plate will have a side view of a brook trout in full color. It is estimated that 91% of the areas that historically supported brook trout are no longer holding brook trout. TU and other conservation-minded partners have been active since 2004 in habitat restoration.
They must pre-sell 1,000 plates by June 30, 2008. If TU receives 1,000 orders for plates, it will take the State of Tennessee from 4-6 months before the purchaser receives the plate. The initial cost is $35 and you can order online at http://www.tuplate.org/. The annual fee will be $35. TU has currently sold 440 plates and if they don’t reach the 1000 plate goal by the deadline your money will be refunded. Seventeen fifty of the $35 additional license fee will be returned to Trout Unlimited annually. Projects to be funded will include “Back the Brookie, ”Tennessee Embrace-A-Stream”, and special future projects. Ninety percent of the funds raised will remain in Tennessee.