Starting next year, Oregonians will have a new license plate option at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The "Coastal Playground" plate features a gray whale mother and calf swimming off the Oregon coast with a tiny lighthouse spotted above rolling waves.

Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute backed the special plate and sold 3,000 vouchers at $40 per plate, to interested drivers. The institute will receive $35 from every voucher sold and proceeds will help pay for research and education at the center.

It's the first license plate that's successfully navigated the state guidelines outlined in July 2016 that created a specific process for approving custom license plates for higher education institutions, nonprofits or other public bodies.

"There has been a great deal of enthusiasm from Oregonians for the new plates - not only because of how striking they are, but also because they will help fund whale conservation efforts," Bruce Mate, the mammal institute's director, said in a statement.

A state transportation official said the institute hadn't submitted the revenue to the DMV yet, but the state expects to have the plates available by the first quarter of 2019.

Pieter Folkens, a wildlife illustrator, designed the plate.

David House, a state transportation spokesman, said other groups are considering special plates as well. "The only other group that has gone through pre-approval and is selling vouchers is U of O with their U of O Alumni plate," House said in an email.

He declined to offer other organizations that are considering special plates, saying some have contacted the state but not submitted paperwork yet.

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen



