By Jim Kurth

Chief, National Wildlife Refuge System

I sometimes wonder how many professions can claim to have friends like we do.

I doubt there are “Friends of the IRS” or “Friends of Podiatrists.” Not that those aren’t noble enterprises, but I doubt that they would draw a loyal following.

What is it about our profession that draws people to volunteer their time and offer money to help? Honestly, it really isn’t about us. People care about the wildlife they find at national wildlife refuges. There is a special sense of place that refuges evoke. People experience more than mere “fun” at refuges. They find deeply personal meanings that are essential to self-identity. (more…)

Americans once again can buy the Save Vanishing Species stamp at post offices and online. Funds help conserve some of the world’s most iconic and threatened species.

The stamp – known as the Tiger Stamp for its image of an Amur tiger cub – works just like a regular postal stamp but sells at a slightly higher price. The additional money goes to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Multinational Species Conservation Funds, helping conservation of elephants, rhinoceros, tigers, great apes and marine turtles.

The stamp was created in 2011, but sale was congressionally mandated for only two years. At the end of 2013, the Post Office pulled the stamp. Congress passed legislation that now guarantees four more years of stamp availability.

The Save Vanishing Species Stamp will be available in U.S. post offices and at USPS.com. To learn more about the Multinational Species Conservation Funds and the Save Vanishing Species Stamp, visit: www.tigerstamp.com.
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