BIDDEFORD — Now here’s a free offer that’s hard to pass up. The Maine Lighthouse Trust is giving away what it hopes will be Maine’s first lighthouse specialty license plate at no charge for a limited time.

Following approval from the Maine Secretary of State to launch a campaign for Maine’s first lighthouse specialty license plate earlier this year, the Maine Lighthouse Trust is now in the home stretch of securing the mandated 2,000 pre-purchased lighthouse license plates it needs to advance to the Maine Legislature in January for a final OK for the initiative. To reach its goal, organizers say that visitors to www.MaineLighthouseTrust.org will have the cost of their specialty license plate pre-paid for by donors to the Maine Lighthouse Trust.

Maine Lighthouse Trust founder Sean P. Murphy says these remaining pre-paid orders will advance the lighthouse nonprofit to obtaining the 2,000 orders required and that motorists who sign up now will receive a paid voucher that can be redeemed at the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles for the specialty license plate.

Murphy said that the limited giveaway will end when the group reaches the 2,000-order threshold and donors who have contributed the $25 fee will help make Maine’s first Lighthouse license plate a reality.

“The limited supply of pre-paid specialty plates will advance our goal of obtaining the required 2,000 Maine motorists interested in sporting Maine’s first Lighthouse specialty license plate,” Murphy said. “Residents will be proud to display the new plates knowing they will be championing the mission to save and preserve Maine’s rich nautical heritage.”

According to Murphy, the Maine Lighthouse Trust will distribute the accrued funds from future sales of lighthouse license plates in the form of grants to statewide lighthouse organizations for the ongoing preservation, restoration and education/awareness of Maine’s historic lighthouses sentinels.

The BMV estimates the new lighthouse plate will raise more than $200,000 per year for Maine’s lighthouse community.

The initial cost of the lighthouse specialty license plate is $25 and the annual renewal cost is $15. The Maine Lighthouse Trust will receive $10 from the initial license plate purchase and $10 per annual renewal.

“The time has come for Maine’s most iconic image to be represented on our resident’s license plates,” Murphy said.  “When people hear this idea they can’t believe we don’t already have a lighthouse plate.”

With more coastal lighthouses than any other state in New England, Maine is often referred to as “The Lighthouse State.” Starting in 1791, lighthouses were built along Maine’s shoreline to help navigate mariners through dangerous waters and the state’s many small islands, ledges and shoals.

By the turn of the 20th century, at least 70 lighthouses guarded Maine’s seacoast, river channels and even one lake in the state.

Currently, 66 lighthouses still stand sentry over the Maine coast. But over the decades, Maine’s iconic lighthouses have come to be more than simply navigational aids. The historic structures that house the lights have become a cherished reminder of the hardihood, romance and adventure of Maine’s maritime history.

In York County, there are five lighthouses, including Boon Island Lighthouse near Cape Neddick, Cape Neddick Lighthouse in Cape Neddick, Goat Island Lighthouse off Cape Porpoise near Kennebunkport, Whaleback Lighthouse near Kittery and Wood Island Lighthouse in Biddeford Pool.

The Maine Lighthouse Trust is a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation, restoration and education/awareness of Maine’s iconic lighthouses.

— Executive Editor Ed Pierce can be reached at 282-1535 or by email at editor@journaltribune.com