Chris Merkord Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 The first Save Vanishing Species Stamp designed by Nancy Stahl depicting an Amur tiger cub. President Obama recently signed a bill reauthorizing the sale of the stamps until 2017. (Credit: USFWS) President Barack Obama signed a bill earlier this month reauthorizing the sale of postage stamps that raise money for wildlife conservation. The Save Vanishing Species Stamp was created by the Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp Act of 2010 (H.R. 1454). The stamp functions as a First-Class postal stamp that is sold at 55 cents—higher than the normal rate. The extra revenue raised is used to finance international conservation projects and leverage matching funds from other sources including non-profit groups and foreign governments. The finance mechanism of the stamp is viewed positively because it raises money entirely through voluntary contributions at a time when congressionally appropriated funds are difficult to achieve. The stamps were sold from 2011 to 2013 until the U.S. Postal Service elected to terminate sales. The new bill (S.231) returns the stamp to USPS shelves and mandates its sale until 2017. The stamp has raised more than $2.5 million dollars through the sale of 25.5 million stamps. Combined with an additional $3.7 million in matching funds, this stamp has financially assisted 47 projects in 31 countries including Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh. Sources: Greenwire (September 26, 2014), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Accessed September 26, 2014) This article was automatically imported from The Wildlife Society's policy news feed.View the full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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