The Service changed the gummed stamp format to improve sales to stamp collectors by reducing the cost of full panes of stamps from $450 per pane to $300 per pane. The new format will also reduce waste when the individual stamps are separated from the pane into collectable plate singles, plate blocks and stamp singles.
The stamps will be arranged on the new pane with five stamps horizontally and four stamps vertically. Each of the four corner stamps will have the plate number printed in the selvage (border) area. Additionally, for the first time in this selvage area the artists name and the title of the art work, "Dawn of a New Millennium," will appear. The single pressure-sensitive adhesive format for the first time will have the artists name printed on the stamp sheetlet. No plate numbers or plate positions are associated with this single self-adhesive format.
The traditional gummed stamp format began in 1934 with the issuance of the very first Federal Duck Stamp, designed by J.N. "Ding" Darling. Formally known as the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, the Duck Stamp is a required annual purchase for waterfowl hunters ages 16 and older. A current Federal Duck Stamp also serves as a free pass to all national wildlife refuges that have entry fees. It is also prized by stamp collectors, art lovers and conservationists for its unique waterfowl designs and for the role it plays in preservation of wetlands habitat.
Sales of Federal Duck Stamps, which are revenue stamps, have raised more than half a billion dollars to purchase some 500 million acres of wetland habitat for the National Wildlife Refuge System, the worlds most unique collection of lands and waters set aside for fish and wildlife. Ninety-eight percent of the proceeds from every $15 Duck Stamp sale goes toward purchasing habitat.
In addition to the stamp format changes, the Federal Duck Stamp Program will streamline its sales efforts by selling only the current years stamp from its Washington, D.C., office. The past three years stamps will still be available from the U.S. Postal Services philatelic center in Kansas City, Missouri, Washington, D.C., and from national stamp dealers who specialize in Federal and State Duck Stamps.
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Collectors are encouraged to purchase the 1999, 1998 and 1997 stamps from the Federal Duck Stamp Office (1-877-887-5508) or the USPS Philatelic Center (1-800-STAMP24) before June 30, 2000, when they will be taken off sale in the Federal Duck Stamp Office.
The 2000-2001 Federal Duck Stamp goes on sale June 30th at the First Day of Sale and Signing Ceremony, to be held this year at the Smithsonian Institutions National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. In the rest of the nation, the new stamp will be available for purchase on July 1 at post offices, national wildlife refuges, some national retail chain stores, and various sporting- goods stores. The 2000-2001 Duck Stamp will be available at select locations in both a self- adhesive format and the traditional gummed format.
The new stamp depicts a single mottled duck poised to take off from a sun-dappled pond. The stamp was designed by Adam Grimm, the youngest artist ever to win the Federal Duck Stamp contest. He is also a former Federal Junior Duck Stamp Design Contest state finalist. The Service sponsors the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Design Contest each year in schools nationwide.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 520 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fish and wildlife management assistance offices, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
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