Duck Stamp Preserves Wildlife Habitat

What do waterfowl hunters, stamp collectors, wildlife-watchers, and ducks have in common? They all benefit from sales of the Federal Duck Stamp!

Duck Stamps aren't just any stamp. You can't use a Duck Stamp to send a letter, but you can use it to help preserve wildlife habitat. Of every dollar spent on Duck Stamps, 98 cents is used to acquire wetlands and other wildlife habitats that are then preserved as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

The Federal Duck Stamp Program has been raising money for habitat conservation and to maintain healthy waterfowl populations since the first stamp was introduced in 1934. Over its nearly 70-year history, the Duck Stamp Program has raised more than $600 million, conserved more than 5 million acres of habitat, including land at Lake Lowell, and returned some duck populations from the brink of extinction.

Waterfowl hunters can congratulate themselves for most of these conservation successes. Waterfowl hunters aged 16 and older are required to purchase and carry the stamp as part of their hunting license. These hunters benefit from the program because conservation of waterfowl breeding habitat increases waterfowl populations, which influences hunting bag limits.

Unfortunately, Duck Stamp revenues have declined in recent years as the number of hunters has declined. Now it's time for others to pick up the slack, especially because lands purchased with Duck Stamp funds preserve habitat for more than just ducks! Many other birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish use the protected habitats. In fact, lands preserved by Duck Stamp funds have been estimated to feed or shelter one-third of the nation's endangered and threatened species.

Anyone who enjoys watching wildlife can purchase a Duck Stamp. Every $15.00 Duck Stamp sold makes an important contribution to wildlife conservation.

Buying duck stamps may even earn you some money! Although you probably shouldn't cash in your retirement account just yet, over the years Duck Stamps haven't been a bad investment. If you had bought every stamp issued between 1934 and 2002, you would have spent $394. Those 69 stamps would now be worth over $5,000.

The 2003 Federal Duck Stamp is now available. Contact us (call 467-9278) for more information about how to get your stamp, or call 1-800-852-4897 or 1-800-STAMP-24.

History of the Duck Stamp
The Duck Stamp Program has its origins in the early decades of the 1900s. Some ducks, including the colorful wood duck, were at risk of extinction, their survival threatened by several factors. Much nesting and migratory habitat had been lost to human development. Some populations were hurt by unregulated market hunting. Finally, the drought that resulted in the "dust bowl" of the 1930s dried up many of the remaining wetlands needed for nesting and breeding.

In response to pressure from concerned hunters and conservationists, Congress passed the Migratory Bird Conservation Act in 1929. That act authorized the government to purchase wetlands and preserve them as waterfowl habitat, but failed to provide a permanent source of funds for such land purchases. The funding problem was solved five years later with the creation of the Duck Stamp Program. More information about Duck Stamp history.

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