Car owners can help protect Biscayne Bay with specialty license plate

Miami-Dade County and the The Miami Foundation have proposed a license plate to raise awareness about protecting Biscayne Bay.

What's happening: The Biscayne Bay specialty plate is one of dozens available for presale through the county tax collector's website.

• The plates' colorful design includes mangroves and the silhouette of an iconic shack at Stiltsville.

Yes, but: The state requires that 3,000 of the plates be pre-sold within a two-year period before it commits to actually producing them.

Details: If you want one, pay the $33 fee on the tax collector's website and get a non-refundable presale voucher.

• 2.5% of proceeds from plate sales will be collected by The Miami Foundation and allocated to The Biscayne Bay Recovery Fund. They'll go to a multilingual Biscayne Bay awareness campaign, and to local nonprofits that focus on Biscayne Bay restoration and education.
• If the presale ends without the 3,000-plate goal being met, refunds may be requested.

What they're saying: "Biscayne Bay is in trouble," Miami Foundation collective impact officer Faith L. Grant told Axios.

• "The health of the bay is threatened by nutrient pollution from storm-water runoff, sewage pipe breaks, septic tanks, fertilizers, plastic pollution and other contaminants that are killing seagrass and driving off fish," she said.

Of note: Other plate designs up for presale feature InterMiami, Florida State Beekeepers, gopher tortoises and more.