Last year, my friend from Tennesee was visiting me in Rhode Island and wanted to hunt in his former birthplace
Along with appropriate state stamps and licenses, the annual purchase of a Federal Duck Stamp is required for waterfowl hunters 16 and older and is valid in any state. Waterfowl hunters 15 years or older must also purchase a Massachusetts waterfowl stamp, valid from January 1 through Dec. 31. The Federal Duck Stamp must be signed across the face in ink. Stamps are required for hunting any ducks (including sea ducks), geese, or brant, but not required for hunting rails, snipe, woodcock, or American coot. Federal stamps are also available at all National Wildlife Refuges, selected U.S. Post Offices, and at usps.com. You may also purchase Federal Duck Stamps to directly support wildlife and habitat conservation. A current duck stamp grants the bearer free entrance into any national wildlife refuge that charges an entry fee.
There was a time when the country was teaming with waterfowl. This resource was decimated in a short time due to several factors.
Market shooting to supply food to restaurants, bounty hunting and unregulated sport hunting, and collecting feathers for the fashion industry all contributed to the loss. Millions of acres of wetlands were drained to feed and house the ever-increasing population, greatly reducing waterfowl breeding and nesting habitat.
In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act (or Duck Stamp Act), and an increasingly concerned nation took firm action to stop the destruction of wetlands vital to the survival of migratory waterfowl. Under the act, all waterfowl hunters 16 years of age and over must annually buy and carry a Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp – better known today as a Federal Duck Stamp.
Ninety-eight cents of every duck stamp dollar goes directly into the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund to purchase or lease (5.2MB) wetlands and wildlife habitat for inclusion in the National Wildlife Refuge System. This ensures there will be land for wildlife and humans that will be protected for generations to come.
Since 1934, some $800 million dollars has gone into that fund to protect more than 5.7 million acres (102.5KB) of habitat. Little wonder the Federal Duck Stamp Program has been called one of the most successful conservation programs ever initiated. One of the reasons for the Duck Stamp’s success is that anyone can buy the stamp, which can also be used as an annual “pass” to national wildlife refuges charging entrance fees.
Conservationists buy duck stamps because they know that 98 percent of the cost goes directly to conserve wildlife habitat vital for many birds, fish, mammals and plants, and you and your family – and future generations. This small investment brings long-term returns.
Stamp collectors purchase the stamp as a collectible that increases in value. Hunters, who strongly advocated for the Duck Stamp’s creation, willingly pay the stamp price to ensure the survival of our natural resources. And many hunters buy two duck stamps each year – one for hunting and one as a collector’s item and an additional contribution to conservation.
The Federal Duck Stamp has evolved over its more than 80 years of existence. In recognition of the stamp’s growing value as a conservation tool, its formal name was changed to the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp.
The first Federal Duck Stamp was designed by J.N. “Ding” Darling, a political cartoonist from Des Moines, Iowa, who was chief of the Bureau of Biological Survey, the predecessor to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In subsequent years, noted wildlife artists were asked to submit designs to be considered for the stamp.
Here in the Central Zone, ducks and geese are open until Nov. 26 and reopen on Dec. 12.
Source: MIKE ROCHE ADN Columnist
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