Established in 1982, Return A Gift To Wildlife (RAGTW) is the only dedicated source of state funding made available to DEC to explicitly address the needs of all wildlife species. This legislation provided an opportunity to enhance DEC's fish and wildlife program. RAGTW funds are typically used to fund high priority projects that improve the management of rare species that either have no other source of funding or to provide required state match for federal grant funds that do the same.
How You Can Help
Donate to Return A Gift To Wildlife when you file your taxes. A voluntary contribution line on the state income tax form provides every taxpayer with an easy, simple way to support fish and wildlife conservation. Any whole dollar amount may be contributed whether taxes are owed or a refund is due, and all contributions are tax-deductible on the following year's return. Direct contributions may also be made to RAGTW, Division of Fish and Wildlife, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-4751.
Contributions Fund Wildlife Projects
More than 250 projects have been totally or partially funded through RAGTW since its inception, and many of these projects would not have been possible without the generous contributions of our citizens.
RAGTW has helped:
- the loons of the Adirondacks;
- whales, seals, and sea turtles on Long Island;
- endangered species such as bald eagles and peregrine falcons throughout the state; and
- implement comprehensive surveys and inventories of many species and their habitats.
Major publications from these surveys, also funded by RAGTW, include:
- Bull's Birds of New York State;
- Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State;
- The Inland Fishes of New York State; and
- hundreds of research reports and educational pamphlets.
RAGTW receives approximately $450,000 annually from tax return contributions.
A History of Success
RAGTW was vital in supporting the return of loons, eagles, and peregrine falcons during its early years. It has helped support the conservation of whales, seals, and sea turtles, as well as the first two Breeding Bird atlases of New York State. The New York Natural Heritage Program was maintained for a number of years with RAGTW support and the wildlife education program Project Wild was developed with support from this vital funding source.
Recent Projects
Since 2017, RAGTW has largely been used to match State Wildlife Grant funding provided to New York State by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to implement actions identified in the New York State Wildlife Action Plan. RAGTW funds help leverage federal funding through the State Wildlife Grant Program to implement comprehensive conservation programs. Work has largely focused on Species of Greatest Conservation Need with limited sources of federal funding. Projects have included Blanding’s turtle nesting habitat creation and enhancement, hellbender monitoring, Karner blue butterfly habitat restoration, bog turtle monitoring, the development of the I Bird NY initiative, contaminant monitoring in fish, disease monitoring in reptiles and amphibians, lake sturgeon monitoring, and rare fish and freshwater mussel propagation.
Current Projects
Current projects include habitat enhancement and monitoring for eastern massasauga, wetland restoration and monitoring for the tiger salamander and mud turtle, queensnake surveys and management, rare fish surveys, freshwater mussel surveys, and the use of eDNA to monitor reptile and amphibian populations and the presence of pathogens in their habitats.
