4/16/2007

Contacts

Contact: Joshua Winchell, 202 219-7499

Bass Pro Shops Joins Service to Celebrate First Day of Sale for 2007-2008 Federal Duck Stamp

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director H. Dale Hall today announced the agency's First Day of Sale plan for the 2007-2008 Federal Duck Stamp, which features a painting of ring-necked ducks by Delaware artist Richard Clifton, and will be held at Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, Missouri, on June 22.  Bass Pro Shops will also sponsor First Day of Sale ceremonies in all of its retail stores throughout the country.
 
Postmaster Bill Brayman of Springfield, Missouri, will sell the first stamp to Director Hall.  In addition, Bass Pro Shops will sell the 2007-2008 Federal Duck Stamp and related products. During the First Day of Sale event, Postal Service representatives will sell required postal stamps and will issue first day cancellations.

Following the First Day of Sale ceremony, Wonders of Wildlife National Fish and Wildlife Museum and Aquarium will open a new permanent exhibit featuring the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Federal Duck Stamp Program. Wonders of Wildlife is a Smithsonian Institution affiliate dedicated to informing, educating, and entertaining visitors about America's outdoor heritage, wildlife, and wild places.

"The Service is grateful to Johnny Morris, founder of Bass Pro Shops and the driving force behind Wonders of Wildlife, for his continued dedication to conservation and his extraordinary generosity," said Hall. "Johnny sets the standard for conservation partnerships, freely sharing his time, his enthusiasm, and support."

The popular value-added product known as the Artist-signed Pane of One will not be sold during this event.  Please visit the Federal Duck Stamp's website for details: http://www.fws.gov/duckstamps/

For additional information concerning First Day of Sale events, please contact either Laurie Shaffer or Patricia Fisher at 703-358-2000.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 547 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
 

-- FWS --