Not only for hunters, the Duck Stamp has raised greater than $1 billion for conservation, helped birds from Buffleheads to Bobolinks, and created a wealth of high-quality artwork within the course of. Shopping for a Duck Stamp is a optimistic conservation motion any birder can take.
July 30, 2024
Initially printed July 2014; up to date July 2024.
Among the many U.S.’s many spectacular federal and state lands, it pays to recollect the wildlife havens which might be the Nationwide Wildlife Refuge system, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This technique of greater than 500 areas is managed primarily for the advantage of wildlife, and they’re nice locations to see birds of every kind, together with waterfowl, shorebirds, and songbirds.
Probably the greatest methods to assist Nationwide Wildlife Refuges is to purchase a Migratory Fowl Looking and Conservation Stamp, or “Duck Stamp,” yearly. It’s a win-win-win: it proudly proclaims your assist of public land, it funnels cash on to the refuge system (to the tune of some $40 million per yr), and it will get you free entry to the refuges all yr.
Shopping for a Migratory Fowl Stamp is a straightforward and direct approach for individuals to contribute to grassland and wetland conservation. In 2013, the New York Occasions ran a chunk on the annual stamp artwork competitors; now right here’s our personal record of eight causes to like the stamp:
1. Over $1 billion for conservation and counting. The primary stamp was issued in 1934. It value $1 (about $18 in as we speak’s {dollars}) and bought 635,001 copies. By legislation, the funds raised go on to habitat acquisition within the decrease 48 states. By now, stamp gross sales have surpassed $1 billion and helped to guard 6.5 million acres of wetland and grassland habitat.
2. A 73-year custom of gorgeous wildlife artwork. The Migratory Fowl stamp is a lovely collectible and an awesome creative custom. Since 1949, the design of every yr’s duck stamp has been chosen in an open artwork contest. The 2022 stamp, displaying a pair of Redheads, was painted by James Hautman, a veteran of the competition who now has six wins to his identify (see a gallery of all stamps again to 1934).
3. A cut price at $25. Ninety-eight cents of every greenback spent on a stamp goes on to land conservation for the Nationwide Wildlife Refuge System. This $25 buy is maybe the one easiest factor you are able to do to assist a legacy of wetland and grassland conservation for birds.
4. It’s far more than geese. Waterfowl hunters have lengthy been the primary supporters for this system—the stamps are a requirement for anybody 16 or older who desires to hunt. However the funds profit scores of different chook species, together with shorebirds, herons, raptors, and songbirds, to not point out reptiles, amphibians, fish, butterflies, native vegetation, and extra. (See a full illustrated historical past of how the Duck Stamp helped save North American waterfowl, from Fowl Academy.)
5. Save wetlands; save grasslands. Since 1958, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has used stamp revenues to guard “waterfowl manufacturing areas”—over 3 million acres—throughout the important Prairie Pothole Area. The identical program additionally protects declining prairie-nesting birds within the face of accelerating lack of grasslands. In consequence, refuges are among the many greatest locations to seek out grassland specialties similar to Bobolinks, Grasshopper Sparrows, Clay-colored Sparrows, Sedge Wrens, and others.
6. The advantages are beautiful. A few of the most various and wildlife-rich refuges throughout the Decrease 48 have been acquired with stamp funds. Chances are high there’s a wildlife refuge close to you that has benefited.
7. It’s your free go to refuges. A migratory chook stamp is a free go for a whole yr to all refuges that cost for admission—so your $25 may even prevent cash.
8. As birdwatchers, let’s get in on the key. Although it’s lengthy been a fixture in searching circles, the Migratory Fowl Looking and Conservation Stamp is without doubt one of the best-kept secrets and techniques in all of chook conservation. It’s time to purchase and present your stamp!
(Because of the Buddies of the Migratory Fowl/Duck Stamp for assist in making ready this publish.)