DUCK STAMPS SOLD WITHIN STATES AND COUNTIES DURING 
SALES YEARS 1971-72 THROUGH 1980-81 
by 
Samuel M. Carney, Michael F. Sorensen 
and Elwood M. Martin 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
Office of Migratory Bird Management 
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center 
Laurel, Maryland 20708 
The distribution of Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps (duck stamps) among States 
and counties during fiscal years 1962-71 was summarized by Schroeder et al. (1974). Throughout 
that decade, data from fiscal years (1 July through 30 June) agreed with that of sales years. A 
subsequent report (Carney et al. 1978) summarized duck stamp sales by State and county for sales 
years 1966-67 through 1975-76. The term "sales year" was used because the Federal fiscal year 
was changed to 1 October through 30 September in 1976. The present report summarizes duck stamp 
sales for sales years 1971-72 through 1980-81 jn the same manner as in Carney et al. (1978). 
Our intention is to continue to publish 10-year summaries at 5-year intervals. 
Before the 1972-73 sales year, the U.S. Postal Service reported sales at individual post 
offices only through the third quarter, with final full-year sales reported at the State level. 
Although these 3/4-year sales were essentially complete, they had not been subjected to the 
Postal Service's final audit. For this reason county totals for stamp-sales year 1971-72 do not 
exactly equal State totals. 
Theoretically, the full-year reports of sales at individual post offices, provided since 1972-73, 
should be complete and accurate, but errors have been detected. Usually the Postal Service has 
been able to provide sufficient information for correction of such errors, and adjustments have 
been made in this report. Undoubtedly some minor errors remain undetected, but the information 
should be sufficiently accurate for most uses. 
The following 10-year summary of duck-stamp sales by county, State, flyway, and the United 
States (Tables 1-5) is presented as a source of data for waterfowl-related programs. According 
to their location, counties in Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, and Wyoming appear in either the 
Central or Pacific Flyway. Numbers and distribution of duck stamps sold approximate numbers and 
distribution of waterfowl hunters, but not necessarily distribution of their hunting activity. 
Because the primary purpose of this summary is to provide an indication of the numbers of 
waterfowl hunters in each county in the United States (census divisions in Alaska), sales records 
not associated directly with hunters have been excluded from Tables 1-5. These include sales at 
the Washington D.C. Philatelic Sales Unit, sales in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, and certain mass 
purchases by stamp contest winners and print distributors. These sales are presented below: 
Numbers of Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps sold each 
year for purposes other than hunting in the continental United States. 
Sales year No. stamps Sales year No. stamps 
1971-72 34,266 1976-77 42,881 
1972-73 23 ,436 1977-78 63 ,833 
1973-74 16,108 1978-79 74,663 
1974-75 34,177 1979-80 62,664 
1975-76 30,762 1980-81 76,932 
