Spectacular Biodiversity Celebrated on Stamps

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Sep 01, 2010, 11:00 ET

Educational Stamp Pane Highlights 24 Species

HAWAII NATIONAL PARK, Hawaii, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The beauty of Hawaii's rare plants and animals will grace letters and packages traveling across the nation now that the Postal Service issued the Nature of America: Hawaiian Rain Forest stamp pane and stamped postal cards today.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100901/DC57306)

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100901/DC57306)

Featuring a Hawaiian rain forest, this 2010 Nature of America collectable stamp pane is the 12th and final pane in an educational series focusing on the beauty and complexity of major plant and animal communities in the United States.

"Beautiful, diverse, and complex," said Patrick Donahoe, Postal Service chief operating officer and Deputy Postmaster General, in dedicating the stamps. "The Hawaiian rain forests are all of these and more. The rain forest is a remarkably self-sustaining and balanced ecosystem. To the credit of the people of Hawaii, work has been ongoing to preserve and protect them, and ultimately, the rain forest itself. As a result, the Hawaiian rain forests are among the most efficient collectors of fresh water in the world."

Joining Donahoe in dedicating the stamps were John Dawson, Nature of America stamp series artist; Daniel Inouye, U.S. Senator, HI; James "Duke" Aiona Jr., Hawaii lt. governor; Mazie Hirono, U.S. representative HI; William Kenoi, Hilo, HI mayor; Cynthia Orlando, superintendent, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park; and Daryl Ishizaki, Honolulu postal district manager.

"The Nature of America series has been a great ride," said Dawson, who spent close to a year in the field researching, photographing, and sketching virtually all of the Hawaiian Rain Forest subjects prior to committing six months to creating the artwork. "For my wife Kathie and me, researching and illustrating the series over the last 14 years has been one of the most fantastic experiences in our careers. I was creating art from subjects I love and along the way we've forged wonderful friendships with this dream assignment." A Hilo, HI, resident since 1989, Dawson illustrated the series under the guidance of art director Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, MD.

To illustrate the spectacular biodiversity of a Hawaiian rain forest, Dawson depicted 24 different species. The scene itself is completely imaginary. Such a dense grouping was necessary in order to show as many plants and animals as possible in the stamp pane format. Even so, every species depicted could be encountered in a Hawaiian rain forest, and all of the species and their interactions are appropriate and were recommended by scientists.

A description of the rain forest and a numbered key to the artwork appear on the back of the stamp pane, along with a corresponding list of common and scientific names for the 24 selected species.

Previous issuances in the Nature of America series were Sonoran Desert (1999), Pacific Coast Rain Forest (2000), Great Plains Prairie (2001), Longleaf Pine Forest (2002), Arctic Tundra (2003), Pacific Coral Reef (2004), Northeast Deciduous Forest (2005), Southern Florida Wetland (2006), Alpine Tundra (2007), Great Lakes Dunes (2008) and Kelp Forest (2009).

The stamps go on sale nationwide today in Post Offices or may be purchased at the online Postal Store at www.usps.com/shop or by calling 800-STAMP-24.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

Ordering the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark

Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their Post Office, at The Postal Store website at www.usps.com/shop or by calling 800-STAMP-24. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes, to themselves or others, and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

Nature of America: Hawaiian Rain Forest Stamp
Postmaster
Hawaii National Park
1 Kilauea Military CP
Hawaii National Park, HI 96718-9997

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by Nov. 1, 2010.

Ordering First-Day Covers

Stamp Fulfillment Services also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic Catalog. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-STAMP-24 or writing to:

Information Fulfillment
Dept. 6270
U.S. Postal Service
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014

Philatelic Products

There are seven philatelic products available for this stamp issue:

465762, First-Day Cover Full Pane, $6.90.
465764, First-Day Cancelled Full Pane, $6.90
465784, Uncut Press Sheet, $35.20.
465791, Ceremony Program, $6.95
465793, First-Day Cover w/ Full Pane Keepsake, $11.95
465798, Limited Edition Collector's Set, $99.95.
885400/01, Oversized Premium Postal Cards, $8.95

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no direct support from taxpayers. With 36,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, the Postal Service relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $68 billion and delivers nearly half the world's mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 28th in the 2009 Fortune 500.

Nature of America: Hawaiian Rain Forest Stamp Pane Background

The following explanatory text, along with a key to the artwork and a corresponding list of species, appears on the back of the stamp pane:

Rainfall is abundant in a Hawaiian rain forest, a verdant world dotted with 'ohi'a lehua blossoms and the flowers of the kanawao, 'oha, and other shrubs. Typically, the leaves and branches of mature 'ohi'a lehua trees make up the forest canopy. Saplings, shrubs, and tree ferns dominate the understory, while a great variety of smaller ferns, herbs and mosses carpet the forest floor.

The lush vegetation offers protection and sustenance for wildlife, including several bird species, numerous insects, and the islands' only native terrestrial mammal — the 'ope'ape'a, or Hawaiian hoary bat. Because of Hawaii's remote location, its rain forest plants and animals were safe from competition and predation by introduced species until relatively recent times; today, they are among the most vulnerable biological communities on Earth.

The stamp pane features a rain forest on the island of Hawaii. In the painting, a tiny happyface spider clings to a leaf in the foreground as honeycreepers and other birds seek nectar, insects, and berries amid the dense foliage.