Donations On Your Tax Form Can Help Save California Endangered Species

While no one likes paying taxes, you can, however, help to preserve some endangered species while filing your state tax returns. In the voluntary contribution section, you can donate any dollar amount to the California Sea Otter Fund (line 410) and the Rare and Endangered Species Preservation Program (line 403).

These special funds help the California Department of Fish and Wildlife protect and study endangered species.

"There is no upper limit to voluntary contributions; any dollar amount is welcome. But, with so many species in need of conservation efforts and given the size of the Golden State, we'd like to encourage higher donations," CDFW senior environmental scientist Esther Burkett said. "These plants and animals are part of our heritage and need your support to survive and thrive."

Last year's average donation was $15 per household, she said.

The donations have had an effect in bringing back the California sea otters population from near extinction, according to the CDFW. Money from the California Sea Otter Fund, which is split between CDFW and the State Coastal Conservancy, funded studies that linked many sea otter deaths to polluted runoff, including fecal parasites, bacterial toxins and chemicals related to coastal land use, the agency said.

There are currently more than 3,000 Southern sea otters, which are fully protected, in California waters but that population is vulnerable to oil spills, chemicals and other pollutants in road and agricultural run-off, predation by white sharks and other threats, the CDFW said.

Humans are also the cause of some sea otters death, according to the CDFW. It is illegal to harass, pursue, hunt, catch, capture or kill sea otters, however, just last year four were shot and many were intentionally harassed by people, the agency said. The California Sea Otter Fund also supports a program to reduce human disturbance to sea otters.

Another 83 species of animals and 219 plants are listed by the state as rare, threatened or endangered. Donations to the Rare and Endangered Species Preservation Program help pay for research and preservation efforts for these plants and animals, and efforts to restore and conserve their habitat.

Past donations to this program have enabled biologists to study the Livermore tarplant and the critically endangered Slender-petaled mustard, as well as to implement conservation efforts for the Mohave ground squirrel, California tiger salamander, giant garter snake, tricolored blackbird and the desert pupfish, according to the CDFW.

For more information about how CDFW uses funds in the Rare and Endangered Species Preservation Program and Sea Otter program, visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/tax-donation or www.facebook.com/seaotterfundcdfw.

— Photo credit: Mike Baird/Wiki Commons