PRESS RELEASE
Start the New Year with a New License Plate
WAYNESVILLE, NC – Savvy drivers in North Carolina and Tennessee can kick off the New Year and join the 32,000 other vehicles with Friends of the Smokies license plates. Sales of specialty license plates in North Carolina and Tennessee support priority projects in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). Projects supported by the specialty plate fees include Student Conservation Association (SCA) internship positions as well as Parks as Classrooms and Appalachian Trail Ridgerunner programs in both states.
License plate sales in North Carolina and Tennessee during 2014 brought in over $750,000. Since the program launched in 1999, plates in both states have generated more than $11.7 million in support of America’s most-visited national park.
These contributions help fund multiple projects in GSMNP including support for seasonal environmental internship positions through the SCA. Student interns gain a deeper understanding of park ecology while conducting scientific research, assisting with resource management projects, and eradicating non-native plants and pests.
Through the Parks as Classrooms program, approximately 18,000 students from Tennessee and North Carolina visit GSMNP each year for ranger-led curriculum-based environmental education. By utilizing the national park as a science classroom, students develop an appreciation for the natural and cultural resources in subject areas including math and science.
Over the past 15 years, the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) Ridgerunner program works to protect resources and enhance the hiking experience along the A.T. within the national park. Ridgerunners educate backpackers and day hikers, clear trail debris, help report emergencies, and pack out litter along more than 70 miles of the A.T. in the park.
Friends of the Smokies specialty license plates can be purchased for $30 in North Carolina and $35 in Tennessee, independent of plate expiration date. Plates may be purchased at DMV license plate tag offices and online at www.FriendsOfTheSmokies.org.
For more than 20 years, Friends of the Smokies has raised over $47 million to help maintain Great Smoky Mountains National Park as a crown jewel of the national park system.
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