# 3105n FDC - 1996 32c Endangered Species: Piping Plover

US #3105n
1996 Piping Plover

• First Day Cover
• Part of set of 15 stamps picturing Endangered Species
• Issued during National Stamp Collecting Month

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Set:  Endangered Species
Value:   32¢First-Class mail rate
First Day of Issue:  October 2, 1996
First Day City:  San Diego, California
Printed by:  Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method:  Lithographed
Format:  Panes of 15 (3 across, 5 down) from printing plates of 90 (9 across, 10 down)
Perforations:  11.1 x 11

Why the stamp was issued:  The pane of 15 Endangered Species stamps was issued as part of the US Postal Service’s National Stamp Collecting Month.  The theme for 1996 was “Collect and Protect.”  The USPS hoped these stamps would appeal to children, who would then become lifelong stamp collectors. 

About the stamp design:  The stamps show photographs of 15 animal species that live in America and re threatened with extinction.  The photos were taken by James Balog.  The animals chosen for the stamps are from all major geographic areas of the US.  The pair of Piping plovers shown on the stamp lived at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.

First Day City: The First Day of Issue ceremony took place at the San Diego Zoo.  In 1996, the zoo was celebrating its 80^th birthday.  The country of Mexico issued its own pane of endangered species stamps on the same day and took part in the First Day of Issue ceremony.  (The stamps were not a joint issue.)  In addition to honored human guests, two sea lions, an Andean condor, and a North American timber wolf were also in attendance at the celebration.

Unusual fact about the Endangered Species stamps: The 1996 National Stamp Collecting Month was co-sponsored by the US Postal Service and the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.

About the Endangered Species Set: The species shown on the pane of Endangered Species stamps are: Black-footed Ferret, Schaus Swallowtail Butterfly, Brown Pelican, San Francisco Garter Snake, Ocelot, Gila Trout, Hawaiian Monk Seal, Thick-billed Parrot, California Condor, Wyoming Toad, Woodland Caribou, Florida manatee, Florida Panther, Piping Plover, and American Crocodile.  All of them are listed on the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants.

History this stamp represents: Named for its distinctive “piping” call, the piping plover nests mostly on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and along the inland rivers of the Great Plains.  A few families have also been found scattered among the Great Lakes.  Migrating south, plovers winter along the Gulf coast from Florida to northern Mexico, as well as on the Atlantic coast from North Carolina to the West Indies.
Uncontrolled hunting during the early part of the century nearly led to the disappearance of these tiny birds.  Protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the plover recovered from its near extinction, only to fall prey to other harder-to-regulate threats: waterfront development and recreation.  Roads and beachfront homes encroach upon the plover’s habitat, leaving few suitable areas for nesting.  Visitors disturb the nests, and unleashed pets prey on the chicks, as do other predators attracted by garbage and litter, such as foxes, skunks, and rats.
To minimize nesting disturbance, conservationists have begun building fences, limiting recreation, enforcing leash laws, and removing garbage.  These efforts appear successful along the Atlantic coast where the plover population is showing signs of recovery.  However, the Great Plains population continues to decrease, and numbers along the Great Lakes are perilously low at just 20 pairs.