Helping to Save Vanishing Species One Stamp at a Time
U.S. Postal Service® Issues Fourth Semipostal Stamp
September 20, 2011
Release No. 11-106
WASHINGTON — With the dedication of its fourth semipostal stamp today, the U.S. Postal Service® is helping to save vanishing species 11¢ at a time — specifically tigers, African and Asian elephants, rhinos, great apes and marine turtles. The net proceeds from the sales of the new Save Vanishing Species semipostal stamp will be transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to support the Multinational Species Conservation Funds.
“This stamp marks the fourth semipostal issued by the U.S. Postal Service®. These types of stamps provide an extremely convenient way for the American public to contribute to help protect threatened and vanishing species,” said Kelly Sigmon, vice president, Channel Access. “We look forward to working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Multinational Species Coalition to make this stamp a success.”
Five million sheets of stamps will be made available initially and will be reprinted based on customer demand. The stamps sell for 55¢ each — 11¢ more than an individual First-Class Mail® stamp —and $11 per sheet of 20.
At an event held at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Sigmon was joined by Teiko Saito, assistant director, International Affairs, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; Joshua Ginsberg, senior vice president, Conservation Operations, Wildlife Conservation Society, and Ginette Hemley, senior vice president, Conservation Strategy & Sciences, World Wildlife Fund, and Dennis Kelly, director, Smithsonian National Zoo, to dedicate the new stamp and pay tribute to some of the world’s more prominent vanishing species.
The Multinational Species Coalition is an alliance of conservationists, zoos, veterinarians, animal welfare groups, circuses and sportsmen. The coalition was created to advocate for the Multinational Species Conservation Funds and is committed to bringing greater attention to this stamp and the funds it was designed to support. The funds will be divided among the African Elephant Conservation Fund, Asian Elephant Conservation Fund, Great Ape Conservation Fund, Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Fund and Marine Turtle Conservation Fund.
The stamp features an illustration of a tiger cub by artist Nancy Stahl. The artwork on the full sheet of 20 stamps is dark green and includes silhouettes of a rhinoceros, a tiger, a gorilla, Asian and African elephants and a marine turtle. Stahl based both the stamp art and the silhouettes on photographs of wildlife. The phrases “Save Vanishing Species” and “Amur tiger cub” appear on the left side of the stamp. Derry Noyes served as the art director, designer and typographer for the stamp.
Legislation creating the semipostal stamp was passed and signed into law in September 2010 as the Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp Act of 2010.
Prior to today’s issuance, three semipostal stamps have been issued by the U.S. Postal Service®. Today, only the Breast Cancer Research stamp is still available for purchase:
- Breast Cancer Research, 1998–current. Net proceeds of nearly $75 million to date have gone to the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense.
- Heroes of 2001, 2002–2004. Net proceeds of $10.5 million went to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. No longer available.
- Stop Family Violence, 2003–2006. Net proceeds of $3.1 million went to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. No longer available.
A Save Vanishing Species note card set, which contains 10 blank cards featuring the image of the stamp, 10 envelopes and 10 stamps, and sells for $15.95, is available in select post offices and online at usps.com/shop. The Save Vanishing Species stamps are available for purchase online as well.
The Multinational Species Coalition includes:
| African Wildlife Foundation | International Elephant Foundation |
| American Bird Conservancy | International Rhino Foundation |
| American Veterinary Medical Association | Jane Goodall Institute |
| Association of Zoos and Aquariums | National Audubon Society |
| Bonobo Conservation Initiative | National Wildlife Federation |
| Born Free USA | The Nature Conservancy |
| Cheetah Conservation Fund | Ocean Conservancy |
| Chelonian Research Foundation | Safari Club International Foundation |
| Conservation International | Sea Turtle Conservancy |
| Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International | Sierra Club |
| Defenders of Wildlife | The WILD Foundation |
| Fauna & Flora International | Wildlife Alliance |
| Feld Entertainment, Inc. | Wildlife Conservation Society |
| Humane Society of the United States / International | Wildlife Management Institute |
| International Crane Foundation | World Wildlife Fund |
| International Fund for Animal Welfare |
For more information on the semipostal stamp and the coalition, visit fws.gov/international/save-vanishing-species-stamp.html.
USPS® Philatelic Archive 