DUCK STAMP DATA 



Background and Technical Information for Collectors 



In the 25-year period since the Migratory 

 Bird Hunting Stamp Act became effective on 

 July 1, 1934, through June 30, 1959, a total of 

 32,592,841 Federal "duck stamps" has been 

 sold. 



What is this stamp? Who buys it? And why? 



The formal name of the stamp is the Migra- 

 tory Bird Hunting Stamp, but it is familiarly 

 called the Federal "duck stamp." It is a reve- 

 nue stamp, and the funds received from its sales 

 are used by the Bureau of Sport Fisheries, Fish 

 and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the 

 Interior, for the National Wildlife Refuge System. 



Under the provisions of the Migratory Bird 

 Hunting Stamp Act of March 16, 1934, every 

 individual who has attained the age of 16 years 

 and who hunts migratory waterfowl (wild ducks, 

 geese, and brant) during the seasons prescribed 

 by Federal regulations, issued by the Secretary 

 of the Interior, is required to have on his per- 

 son a Federal duck stamp of current issue 

 which he has validated by writing his signature 

 in ink across its face. 



Enactment of a modern "Stamp Act" in 

 1934 



In 1934 the Congress passed the Migratory 

 Bird Hunting Stamp Act which has contributed 

 as much to wildlife conservation history as did 

 its predecessor of colonial days to political his- 

 tory. It was enacted because sportsmen and 

 conservationists were aroused to action by the 

 rapid decrease in the numbers of wild ducks 

 and geese. This decrease was brought about 

 by overshooting and a protracted drought which 

 existed in the heart of the migratory waterfowl 

 breeding area for a number of years. 



Drainage had destroyed millions of acres of 

 marsh and water areas formerly inhabited bv 



waterfowl, fishes, and fur animals. Much of the 

 land so drained proved to be practically useless 

 for farming or for any other purpose. 



Thus, drainage in the early 1900's, followed 

 by drought in the 1930's, dried up tremendous 

 areas of what had been important nesting 

 grounds in the north, resting areas along the 

 flyways, and wintering places in the south. 



The new law was welcomed as a means of 

 providing funds for the conservation of our 

 migratory waterfowl in order to remedy those 

 mistakes of the past by restoring some of the 

 wasted land to the country's wildlife as well as 

 to purchase other marshlands not yet destroyed. 



Provisions of the original Migratory Bird 

 Hunting Stamp Act 



Under this act, which became effective on 

 July 1, 1934, any person who has attained the 

 age of 16 years and who hunts wild ducks, 

 geese, or brant must carry on his person an 

 unexpired Federal migratory-bird hunting stamp 

 across the face of which he has written his sig- 

 nature in ink. Possession of this stamp quali- 

 fies the hunter as a legal wildfowler, provided 

 he has a State hunting license. Only one stamp 

 is required regardless of the number of States 

 in which the sportsman shoots during the op)en 

 season. Persons who collect migratory birds 

 for scientific purposes must also have the stamp, 

 in addition to the Federal scientific collecting 

 permit prescribed. The penalty provided for 

 any violation of the act is a fine of not to ex- 

 ceed $500, 6 months' imprisonment, or both. 



The act provided that not less than 90 per- 

 cent of the total proceeds received from the sale 

 of the stamps could be used by the Fish and 

 Wildlife Service to supplement other funds for 

 the purchase, development, administration, and 



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