Thousands of South Dakota habitat license plates do nothing for habitat, due to two-part process

Drivers are asked to separately donate with decal purchase unlike other states, where process is streamlined

That’s because unlike some other states, where drivers’ habitat contributions are collected during license-plate transactions, South Dakota dispenses the plates and then asks drivers to separately donate to habitat conservation later by ordering habitat-themed decals and affixing them to the plates. Some drivers don’t follow through with the optional purchase of the decals. As a result, the state …