“Ohio is proud to be the first state to initiate a special Smokey Bear license plate,” said John Dorka, chief of the ODNR Division of Forestry. “Smokey Bear has long been admired for his role in promoting wildfire prevention. Now Ohioans can take that pledge a step further by purchasing one of Smokey’s plates.”

Each Smokey plate sold in Ohio costs $25 above the price of a standard license plate, with $15 of that amount going to the ODNR Division of Forestry for wildfire prevention and education programs. The plate can be ordered at any deputy registrar office, on the Internet at OPLATES.COM, or by calling toll-free 888-PLATES3 (752-8373).

Smokey Bear has been the national symbol for wildland fire prevention since 1944. About 1,000 wildfires occur each year in Ohio, mostly in the state’s heavily forested southern and eastern regions. Since 1998, there have been 76 injuries and six deaths as a result of wildland fires in the state. Most of these fires were caused by human carelessness.

ODNR spearheads a number of programs to educate Ohioans about the threat of wildfires, including Smokey Bear community/school visits and Firewise, a wildland fire prevention program for homeowners in high-risk areas.