State’s fish to be featured on new specialty plates designed by WCU art professor

From a Western Carolina University press release:

State’s fish to be featured on new specialty plates designed by WCU art professor

CULLOWHEE – When it comes to fishing, Western Carolina University art professor Jon Jicha is happy angling in all kinds of waters.

But recently, Jicha painted a couple of his favorite fish for the North Carolina Department of Transportation to use in two new vehicle plate designs. The designs show native brook trout (the state’s official freshwater fish) and red drum (the official state saltwater fish) in their natural habitats.

More than just attractive car tags, the plates serve to reinforce the necessity of maintaining the state’s natural resources — especially those that tend to get caught and eaten in large numbers.

“My history as a fly fisherman goes back nearly 50 years,” said Jicha, a graphic design and media arts instructor at WCU since 1984. “And I believe that supporting natural habitats and our environment is a self-evident responsibility.”

Jicha’s personal commitment to that responsibility began in 2007, when he noticed some specialized vehicle plates and wondered why he never saw any that depicted the state’s two celebrated fish. So he asked a district state senator to sponsor a bill advocating for a native brook trout specialty plate.

It wasn’t until 2014 that the Legislature approved the measure, but it also added approval for another plate featuring the red drum (named because of its color and the drum-like sound that males produce in their swim bladder during spawning time.)

“Native species of any kind need support for their continued existence,” Jicha said. “And with these plates, it was an opportunity to inject awareness and fundraising for two of our most important agencies – N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources – and their ongoing efforts to maintain our natural resources.”

The sale of the plates would help fund habitat protection of red drum waters, said Patricia Smith, public information officer with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries in Morehead City.

“In the late 1990s, the red drum species was overfished and in trouble,” Smith said. “With stricter recreational and commercial management measures, the species is now well on its way to recovery. So habitat protection is very important to maintaining and enhancing the red drum population.”

Currently, more than 200 wildlife species are legally protected in North Carolina. WCU students and professors help maintain that protection through wildlife inventory, monitoring and applied research study in the field.

“The list of priority species in Western North Carolina is so long and the conservation challenges so great that we cannot meet our management goals and objectives without help from academic partners like WCU,” said Lori Williams, a certified wildlife biologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission near Asheville.

Jicha’s specialty plates idea is part of a long-term reminder to keep red drum numbers at high levels, said Smith. “The red drum is not in danger like some of our other animals, and we’re looking to keep it that way,” she said. “The license plates are a demonstration of a commitment to our native fisheries.”

Only one hurdle remains: for the plates to be stamped and made, at least 500 orders for each one have to be collected before July 1, 2015.

“That’s the minimum order for us to issue the plates for sale,” said Brian Smith, communications manager with the Department of Motor Vehicles in Raleigh. “If these specialty plates become available for issuance, customers who purchase the new plate would exchange their old plates for one of these new ones.”

Plates can be ordered in two ways: North Carolina residents can go to their local DMV to fill out a registration form request; or they can visit the NC DMV online at https://edmv.ncdot.gov/VehicleRegistration/SpecialPlate.

Jicha said he hopes the idea gets enough initial support to catch on – and for a very personal reason: the more trout and red drum that fill the state’s waters, the more he and other fly fishermen can enjoy catching — and releasing – them.

“Fish are transformative animals that offer us a vehicle to a mysterious world, and the brook trout and red drum are magnificent,” he said. “And North Carolina is very fortunate to have both as native residents.”