U.S. Postal Service® and Brooklyn’s Wildlife Conservation Society Prospect Park Zoo
Helping to Save Vanishing Species
September 29, 2011
BROOKLYN, NY — On October 11, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. – 12 noon, the Brooklyn Post Office and the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Prospect Park Zoo will hold a special unveiling ceremony to commemorate the stamp which is helping to save vanishing species 11¢ at a time — specifically tigers, African and Asian elephants, rhinos, great apes and marine turtles. The ceremony is being held at the Prospect Park Zoo, located at 450 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn NY.
To commemorate the day, a pictorial cancellation postmark has also been created. The public may bring items to the ceremony that they want postmarked with the cancellation at no charge. On sale will be the beautiful stamps and a Keepsake Souvenir Card with the stamp and special cancellation postmark.
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, which are dedicated to conserving threatened species worldwide.
“The new wildlife stamp is a tremendous opportunity to help save wildlife around the world in a financially responsible way,” said John Calvelli, Wildlife Conservation Society’s Executive Vice President of Public Affairs. “The Wildlife Conservation Society is proud to work with the U.S. Postal Service® to save some of our globe’s most endangered creatures.”
“The Save Vanishing Species stamps mark 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 Frank Calabrese, USPS District Manager for the Triboro area of the U.S. Postal Service®.
Roxanne Hosein, Manager of Marketing for the U.S. Postal Service® said, “Five million sheets of stamps have been made 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.”
Multinational Species Conservation Funds (MSCF) are comprised of the African Elephant Conservation Fund, Asian Elephant Conservation Fund, Great Ape Conservation Fund, Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Fund and Marine Turtle Conservation Fund, among which proceeds of the stamp will be divided. Bi-partisan 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.The Multinational Species Coalition, an alliance of conservationists, zoos, veterinarians, animal welfare groups, circuses and sportsmen, advocates for the MSCF and is committed to bringing greater attention to this stamp and the funds it was designed to support.
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.
Prior to this new stamp, 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 online at usps.com/shop. The Save Vanishing Species stamps are available for purchase online as well and at most post offices.
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/semipostal. To learn more about the Prospect Park Zoo and their schedule of events, www.prospectparkzoo.com.
USPS® Philatelic Archive 