You can help protect New Jersey's bald eagles and all other rare wildlife by supporting the New Jersey Endangered Wildlife Fund when you file your state income tax this year.

Simply look for Line 57 on your NJ 1040 income tax return, and check-off for wildlife. Or remind your tax preparer that you want to make a contribution. Every dollar you donate goes directly to the DEP's Endangered and Nongame Species Program, enabling biologists to continue their work to restore, conserve and enhance New Jersey's populations of rare species. What's more, your contribution is matched with an equal amount of federal funding, further strengthening efforts to protect hundreds of imperiled species.

The Endangered and Nongame Species Program is responsible for protecting and managing nearly 500 wildlife species, including 73 species currently listed as endangered or threatened. The program is funded almost entirely by the state income tax check-off donations and through sales of the distinctive Conserve Wildlife License Plate.

For more than 35 years, Endangered and Nongame Species' biologists have been working to bring back from the brink of extinction a variety of rare species such as the bald eagle, the peregrine falcon and the osprey. Your contribution to the Endangered Wildlife Fund makes it possible for these scientists to prevent other birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, fish and even butterflies from being added to the state's list of endangered and threatened species.