The Appalachian Trail crosses 14 states. So far, the only specialty license-plate program is in North Carolina. The basic Friends of the Appalachian Trail plate is available for a yearly special fee of $30, charged in addition to the regular license fee. A personalized Appalachian Trail plate is available for a $60 special fee. The Conservancy receives $20 per plate from the special fee of either plate type. Currently, 537 motorists have requested the plate, which translated into a first installment of $10,740 in revenues for the park. The DMV sends quarterly revenues to the Conservancy.
Specialty plates are ordered in person at the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) offices or by mail and on line to that office. Previously, purchasers applied on the Conservancy's Web site, until the threshold of 300 requests was reached and the DMV updated its site, to which the ATC links. The information goes directly to the DMV.
The North Carolina specialty license-plate program became official in 2005 once that minimum number of 300 applications was submitted to the DMV. In May 2005, the DMV began mailing out the new Friends of the Appalachian Trail plates. Clark Wright, an ATC member and lawyer residing in New Bern, N.C., initiated the project and worked since early 2003 with a state senator to shepherd the authorization through the legislature and the DMV. It took eight months to pass the enabling legislation, then another almost two years to sign up the 300 motorists required before the DMV would start producing the plates.
Brian King , associate director of communication, said that the Conservancy had difficulty getting North Carolina motorists to sign on because of: 1) the competition of other specialty license plates - including the Great Smokies, which already had established their license plate program and the Blue Ridge, which was authorized at the same time and had a psychological connection to vehicles as a step up in reaching its constituency; and, 2) inadequate advance publicity by the Conservancy in one of the states it focuses on. King advises groups who are thinking about starting a program to get publicity out ahead of the deadline authorization, so that a "surge" of applicants is ready to go and build up more publicity. After the required number of motorists registered for plates, it took another three months before the tags were issued and on the road to attract more exposure.
The funds support ATC programs in North Carolina, where four affiliated independent clubs have assigned sections of the Appalachian Trail . Such programs include training, workshops, tools, and seasonal volunteer crews; education and interpretation; open-areas management; responses to threats to the Appalachian Trail management zone; land-trust work; and other activities associated with managing the hiking trail.
Legislation requires that revenue generated from the program be spent within North Carolina. The Conservancy has not yet identified projects but is thinking that the program may fund land acquisition or possibly as seed money for new partnerships with other organizations whose work contribute to its mission.
The Conservancy values the revenue from the program and exposure of the plates provide for the park.
On the downside, King said there is always something that could be done to promote the program. Unfortunately, they can't allocate staff time to work on expanding the program to the other 14 states. To do that, King estimates the Conservancy would need to hire a full-time person dedicated to it. Fortunately, all the administrative work is handled through the DMV - the Conservancy just receives the revenue checks. The organization does not have any immediate plans to expand the license plate program into other states - although it has been getting inquiries from motorists-members in Pennsylvania.
Contact: Brian King, Associate Director of Communications with Appalachian Trail Conservancy