Really, you should. (Especially if you are a photographer of the outdoor world.)
Many people associate Duck Stamps with hunting, and think that if you purchase a stamp you are supporting hunting (which some people don’t like). Officially the stamps support both hunting and conservation.
Duck Stamps provide our incredibly underfunded national wildlife refuge system with monies to acquire land to create new refuges or expand existing ones. In the past 75 years the sale of stamps has been used to acquire five million acres of critical habitat for our national refuges. Ding Darling in Florida, Bosque del Apache in New Mexico, and Parker River (Plum Island) right here in Massachusetts are all places I’ve visited and just a few of the refuges that have benefited from Duck Stamp revenue.
The sight of thousands of Snow Geese taking off at once, the exotic sounds of Sandhill Cranes chattering back and forth, marsh grass glowing at sunset, turtles basking on logs, and countless other sights and sounds are protected because people pony up $15 once a year and purchase a stamp.
So head on over to your local post office or wildlife refuge visitor center and buy a stamp or two. (Many people collect them as artwork, as they are quite beautiful.) If you value conservation of land, this is one of the best investments you can make.
But wait, there’s more! Your Duck Stamp acts as a pass to U.S. National Wildlife Refuges that charge admission fees — so you get to see the results of your purchase.
To learn more about the program visit: http://www.fws.gov/duckstamps
[Photograph: Puffer Pond, Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge]