The Duck Stamp Story: Art, Conservation, History : Detailed Information on the Value and Rarity of Every Federal Duck Stamp - Softcover

Dolin, Eric Jay; Dumaine, Bob

Softcover

ISBN 10: 087341814X ISBN 13: 9780873418140

Publisher: Krause Pubns Inc, 2000

Synopsis

Hunters, collectors, conservationists, and art lovers will all want this, the ultimate guide to the history and collector value of the Federal Duck Stamp on their shelves. This book crosses the boundaries of collecting, conservation, art, and history. It will become the standard by which other books are judged.

About this title

About the Author

Eric Jay Dolin, Ph.D., is a freelance writer who has published four books and numerous articles on environmental and other topics in a wide range of journals, magazines, and newspapers. Eric's passion for conservation, wildlife, and stamp collecting, is what led him to this project. Educated at Brown University, Yale University, and MIT, his work experience includes being an AAAS writing fellow at Business Week, a Pew Research Fellow at Harvard Law School, a Knauss Sea Grant Fellow at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and environmental consultant, and most recently a program manager at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He lives in Garrett Park, MD, with his wife, Jennifer, and children, Lily and Harrison.

Bob Dumaine is a recognized duck stamp expert and has authored hundreds of articles on duck stamps. He founded the National Duck Stamp Collector's Society, and is owner of Sam Houston Duck Company, acknoweldged leader in the duck stamp field. He was a judge in the prestigious Federal Duck Stamp Contest, as well as several state junior duck stamp programs, and serves as a stamp expertizer for Professional Stamp Experts, Inc.. Bob is frequently called on by federal and state agencies for consultation on their programs. For more than 12 years, he has written a monthly column on duck stamp for Linn's Stamp News, and is publisher of The Duck Report. Bob graduated from Loyola University in New Orleans, his birthplace and where his love affair with wildlife began. He currently lives in Sugar Land, Texas, with Rita, daughter Libby, and three Shetland sheep dogs, Lucy, Maggie, and Frito.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

Flying north in the spring and south in the fall, each year migratory waterfowl repeat one of nature s most breathtaking journeys of birth and renewal. For the past sixty-seven years a stamp has helped the birds make the flight. Sales of the federal duck stamp, topping half a billion dollars, have enabled the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to purchase more than five million acres of National Wildlife Refuge lands, critical habitat that migratory waterfowl and other species depend on for their survival. The duck stamp story is one of vision, dogged persistence, commitment, and beauty which conservationists, hunters, bird watchers, stamp collectors, and art lovers all can appreciate. Most importantly, the duck stamp story is about great results. The Federal Duck Stamp Program is one of the most successful conservation efforts ever devised. It is a true national treasure.

The program began in 1934 with the passage of the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act. From that point forward, all migratory waterfowl hunters sixteen years of age and older have been required to purchase a duck stamp to legally hunt. Since then, sixty-seven federal duck stamps have been issued, each with a different design of migratory waterfowl species on its face. The term duck stamp is a misnomer because the program covers all migratory waterfowl, not just ducks. This is reflected on the stamps, some of which show geese and swans. Nevertheless, the stamps are commonly referred to as duck stamps and that is the convention used here.

The seeds of the federal duck stamp program were sown well before 1934. From the 1600s through the 1800s, the pressures of population growth, development, and hunting, particularly market hunting, combined to place many migratory waterfowl populations in a precarious position. By the end of the nineteenth century it was clear that action to reverse these declines was necessary, not just at the state level where it had already begun, but at the federal level too. In the early decades of the twentieth century, a variety of laws designed to protect migratory waterfowl were enacted. Still, by 1919, it was clear this was not enough. That year, the idea of a hunting stamp for migratory waterfowl made its first appearance on the national scene. Over the next fifteen years an incredibly diverse cast of characters conducted a lively and at times heated public debate on the merits of various bills that would create a duck stamp and preserve migratory waterfowl habitat. These d! eliberations resulted in the 1934 law and, as a testament to the foresight of the law s designers, in the years since then the basic outlines of the Federal Duck Stamp Program have remained largely intact.

Being so successful, it is not surprising that the Federal Duck Stamp Program has spawned many imitators. At one time or another, all fifty states have run their own duck stamp programs. Local and tribal governments, as well as various private organizations have also issued duck stamps. The concept has spread beyond the United States borders, to the point where eighteen foreign countries now boast duck stamp programs of their own.

The Federal Duck Stamp Program, like the migrations of waterfowl, follows an annual cycle. In the fall the art contest is held which chooses the winning design that will appear on the next year s duck stamp. Hundreds of artists from around the country vie for the honor of being crowned winner and the level of competition is high. The winning artist and his or her design goes on a victory tour at waterfowl festivals, stamp shows, and other events, spreading the word about the program. At the same time, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is busy at work translating the winning painting into a miniature work of art - the duck stamp. The Bureau s work is complete by early summer and the new duck stamp is officially issued for sale, usually on July 1. Then the cycle begins anew.

Duck stamp sales are not the only way the federal duck stamp program makes money to purchase critical habitat. Manufacturers of all types of products, including refrigerator magnets, computer mouse pads, and calendars are licensed by the USFWS s Duck Stamp Office to reproduce the image of the duck stamp on the items they sell. Part of the proceeds for such sales go to the USFWS to buy refuge lands. While the duck stamp image is the property of the USFWS, the artwork is not. The artists retain the rights to their art they earn a considerable amount of money selling prints of their winning designs to collectors.

The federal duck stamp program spans many years and touches many lives. But mostly, it s for the ducks.

Edition details

• Publisher: Krause Pubns Inc
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 087341814X
• ISBN 13: 9780873418140
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 206