It should be noted that when you buy your 2015-16 duck stamp. the extra $10 — cost is now $25, up from $15 — will by law be spent on wetland and grassland easements in the National Wildlife Refuge system. These are habitat types fast being lost to corn and soy beans. We really need this effort at saving some of that land. The cost of the stamp is always well spent on wildlife habitat. The stamp's price increase is necessary and appropriate, and will be well spent. I bought my stamp today at the Wayzata post office. A post office near you has yours.

The illustration below shows the form on which you receive your stamp. It now is a peel-and-stick stamp, like current postage stamps. You can see where my stamp was before I stuck it on the cover of my first Sibley guide, home to all of my stamps since that book was published.

I also mentioned on a stamp post a few days ago that there is conversation about adding a non-game bird to the stamp, a tiny in-the-distance non-game bird, a symbol for those of us who do not hunt. On the reverse of the stamp form shown here is an illustration of a non-game bird, this rail (below). It's not on the stamp, but it's in the neighborhood.