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Government, Hunting & Conservation Groups Announce First Day of Duck
Stamp Sales in Southeast
Funds Purchase Vital Land for Wildlife Habitat
MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 29, 2005
Contacts:
Tom MacKenzie,
USFWS, 404/679-7291, 678-296-6400 (cell)
WHO:
- Sam D. Hamilton, Southeast
Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
the agency responsible for administering the Duck Stamp Program;
- Georgann Schmalz, President
of Atlanta Audubon Society
- Robert Bamford, Postmaster
of Lawrenceville, Georgia, U.S. Postal Service
- Jay Roper, Chairman, Gwinnett
County Chapter of Ducks Unlimited;
- Bill Fletcher, Chief of
Game Management, Wildlife Resources Division, Georgia Department
of Natural Resources;
- Glen Dowling, Executive
Vice-President, Georgia Wildlife Federation
WHAT:
Media availability and photo
opportunities at the first day of 2005-2006 Duck Stamp Sales. Duck
stamps available on location for $15.
WHERE:
Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World
5900 Sugarloaf Parkway
Lawrenceville, Georgia
WHEN:
Friday, July 1, 2005,
11 a.m.
NOTE: Southeastern
media outside Atlanta area can participate in the press conference
by telephone. Call contact below for access number.
CONTACT:
Tom MacKenzie, USFWS, 404/679-7291, 678-296-6400 (cell)
BACKGROUND:
Duck Stamps (Federal
Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps) were originally created
in 1934 as the federal licenses required for hunting migratory waterfowl.
Now these pictorial stamps, produced by the Postal Service for the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, also contribute funding for wetland
conservation. Ninety-eight cents of every dollar generated from duck
stamp sales goes to purchase or lease wetland habitat for protection
in the National Wildlife Refuge System. Additionally, a current year’s Duck Stamp serves as an entrance pass to National
Wildlife Refuges. Duck stamps are also collector’s items. More
than $700 million in stamp sales has protected more than 5.2 million
acres of waterfowl habitat. A recent success of the National Wildlife
Refuge System and the Federal Duck Stamp Program is the discovery of
the Ivory Billed Woodpecker in Cache River National Wildlife Refuge in
eastern Arkansas. The bird had been considered extinct for 61 years.
US Fish & Wildlife Service Duck Stamp Website
State
by State and Refuge Listing of Duck Stamps funds and land purchased
Duck Stamp poster
:30
Second Public Service Announcement
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