Photo Courtesy of Jim Williams

Buying a Stamp is something that will benefit a lot more than ducks. Many shorebirds, long-legged waders and wetland and grassland songbirds depend on habitat derived from Stamp purchases, habitat that is wisely invested in Refuges and WPAs. The two species of long-legged waders shown here are just two of the non-waterfowl species that benefit from Stamp funds.

The Tricolored Heron, on the left, is a species that ranges along the Atlantic coast from New Jersey through Florida and across the Gulf coast westward through coastal Texas. This graceful and elegant heron of the Southeast is found at many of the NWRs that have been created along our Atlantic and Gulf coasts.The Snowy Egret, seen on the nest on the right, has an overlapping range, but it extends even farther inland in the southeast and also in California and large parts of the interior West.

The Snowy Egret was one of the major victims of the feather-trade, pursued for the species' lovely, long, and filmy feathers, called "aigrettes."  The adults, in impressive breeding plumage, were often slaughtered on their nests, with the helpless young left to die. The birds were persecuted across the southeast until the Lacey Act of 1900, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, and the growth of a real Refuge System made the country safe for these birds.

Indeed, NWRs have been immensely  important for herons and egrets, especially when considering the acquisition of expansive marshes.  The next time you see one of these birds on a coastal wetland or interior swamp, remember that refuges have saved these birds for current and future generations and that the investment of Stamp dollars helped make that security possible.

The acrylic painting that won the most recent Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest – in late September 2012 – will appear on the 2013-2014 Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp (as the Duck Stamp is officially called). The painting of the male Common Goldeneye is by Robert Steiner, an artist from San Francisco, California. (His art previously appeared on the 1998-1999 Federal Duck Stamp. Curiously, that image was of a closely-related species, a Barrow's Goldeneye. That 1998-1999 stamp sold 1,627,521 copies, and it produced $24,412,815 of revenue to build the Refuge System.)

The 2013-2014 Federal Duck Stamp will go on sale in late June 2013. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service produces the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, which sells for $15 and raises about $25 million each year to provide critical funds to conserve and protect wetland and grassland habitats in the National Wildlife Refuge system for the benefit of wildlife and the enjoyment of people.

Buying the stamp is perhaps the single simplest thing individuals can do to support a legacy of wetland and grassland conservation for birds. Almost all the stamp proceeds go to help secure valuable Refuge System habitats. The stamp, of course, is not something that will benefit solely ducks. Many other bird species – from shorebirds to songbirds – are dependent on habitat secured through stamp purchases. The same could be said about the benefits to other wildlife – not only birds – and water quality.

This is a major refuge-building and conservation stamp!

There are many ways to help support the growth and appreciation of the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation [Duck] Stamp. The print public service announcement (PSA) for the stamp shown here is just one way. There are many others we recommend for your consideration. 

Join Our Friend Group and support its work.

Participate in the related Stamp-support Listserv to discuss sales, promotion, and appreciation of the Stamp.

Don't just buy the Stamp display it.

See the many materials that are available to help support the stamp, including posters, the PSAs and a listing of the "top ten reasons" to buy the Stamp.

Follow our links for related information and activities to support the Stamp.

Let us know what you think and how we can all do better to advance the cause of the Stamp.

Let us know if you want a speaker at your event, convention, conference, to speak on the importance of the Stamp.

The image on the top of the page shows a Stamp-associated sign – "Your Duck Stamp Dollars At Work" – at an emergent marsh at the Pondicherry Division of the Silvio Conte National Fish and Wildife Refuge in Jefferson, New Hampshire. (You can see Cherry Mountain in the background, part of the White Mountain National Forest.)  Almost 30 percent of the Pondicherry Division has been acquired through Migratory Bird Conservation Fund (MBCF) dollars. The MBCF is where Stamp dollars are held prior to investment.

You can access an invaluable listing of every National Wildlife Refuge that has received funding through Stamp dollars here (updated as of 30 September 2011). This involves 249 refuges in the lower 48 states. From this list you can also find the percentage of property paid for by Migratory Bird Conservation Fund dollars, where Stamp funds are held.  For example, here are some well-known NWRs and those impressive corresponding percentages:

Buy -­ and display – your Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, popularly called the “Duck Stamp.” The 2012-2013 Stamp shows a lovely male Wood Duck, painted by Joe Hautman. His art also graced the federal stamp three other times – 1991, 2001, and 2007. (Runners up in the contest last year were Adam Grimm who came in second with his painting of a single Gadwall and Richard Clifton who came in third with his painting of a pair of Mallards.)

The Wood Duck is one of the loveliest waterfowl species in North America. Unfortunately, in the late1800s, Wood Ducks were particularly hard hit by market hunters. There were rumors of possible near-extinction by the first decaded of the 20th century. It was no accident that Wood Duck was the only duck species singled out for total protection at the start of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 1918. This total protection lasted until the early 1940s.

When the protection of the Wood Duck was lifted in 1941, Frank Bellrose, waterfowl chronicler extraordinaire, regarded its recovery as nothing short of miraculous. By the 1950s, nestboxes began to play a significant role in the continued recovery of the Wood Duck. If Wood Ducks could recover, other waterfowl species could, too, and the investment of Stamp dollars in wetland habitat have played a huge role in waterfowl recovery across the country.

Of course, the proceeds from Stamp sales are dedicated to land preservation – wetland and grassland – in our Refuge System.  Since the 1930s, Stamps have contributed over $850 million and have helped to protect 5.5 million acres of habitat for wildlife and future generations. The Stamp itself functions as a federal license to hunt waterfowl for anyone over the age of 16. It's also important to remember that anyone who possesses a valid stamp is allowed free entry to any National Wildlife Refuge that may charge for entry.