This seems like a great idea, but..... Ohio has something of this sort: the Wildlife Legacy Stamp. It's a stamp; it sells for $15 (slightly less than the proposed $20 federal stamp); it is not at all identified with extractive uses; and all of the money raised through sales of the Wildlife Legacy Stamp go directly to habitat acquisition and maintenance by Ohio's Division of Wildlife in places like Wildlife Areas, rough equivalents to federal Wildlife Refuges. The result? Well, some birders (and others) do buy Wildlife Legacy Stamps -- but certainly nowhere near all birders in Ohio. Sale of the stamps does bring in a few dollars but the emphasis is on "few"; the last numbers I heard would allow ODW to acquire one or two vacant lots. In other words, Ohio's history with a program similar to the proposed Federal Wildlife Stamp does not exactly suggest tremendous success for a federal program. This is not an indictment of the proposal, and I commend Bill for pointing out that an effort along these lines does exist. It's possible that Ohio birders are uniquely cheap and/or uncaring. Or perhaps Ohio birders are so pure of heart that they will not support programs administered by the Division of Wildlife because the Division is beholden to hunters, but they would support programs administered by the USFWS...which is just as beholden to hunters. Or maybe a federal stamp program would cause the heavens to open and a great light to shine upon the land. Or something. Of course, some Ohio birders do indeed but Wildlife Legacy Stamps (and Duck Stamps). Those who don't could easily undermine my argument about the likely success of a federal wildlife stamp program by supporting that state program that we already have. We'll see. Bill Heck On Mon, May 2, 2016 at 9:21 AM, Bill Whan <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > If I may briefly intrude into celebrations of spring arrivals of birds, > I submit this proposal that might increase their numbers: > http://wildlifeconservationstamp.org/the-proposal/ . Whaddya think? > --Bill Whan > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. > Please consider joining our Society, at > www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. > Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. > > > You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: > listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS > Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] > -- Bill Heck Regional Director - Mississippi Flyway North National Audubon Society ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]