2019 Wild and Scenic Rivers
- To commemorate the Wild and Scenic Rivers System established under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018.
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Value: First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue: May 21, 2019
First Day City: Bend, Oregon
Printed by: Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method: Offset
Format: Panes of 12
Tagging: Phosphor, block tag
Why the stamps were issued: To honor the 50th anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act which established a system of over 200 rivers in 40 states and Puerto Rico as of 2019.
About the stamp designs: Each of the 12 different stamps designs pictures a photograph of a different river from the Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue Ceremony was held at Tumalo State Park in Bend, Oregon. The Deschutes River runs through the park, one of the over 200 rivers protected by the Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
History the stamp represents: In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed several environmental conservation laws into effect. Among them was the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. This act “declared to be the policy of the United States that certain selected rivers of the Nation which, with their immediate environments, possess outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural, or other similar values, shall be preserved in free-flowing condition, and that they […] shall be protected for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations.”
When the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was first passed, eight rivers were chosen as the first to be protected by it. They were the Clearwater, Eleven Point, Feather, Rio Grande, Rogue, St. Croix, Salmon, and Wolf Rivers. By 2019, over 200 rivers in 40 states and Puerto Rico were included in the system.
Today, various federal and state government agencies, plus private landowners and countless volunteers, work together to preserve all the wonderful qualities of America’s rivers. Together, they ensure trash and pollutants stay far away from the water, as well as preventing man-made structures like dams from diverting natural river flow. Nebraska resident Brad Arrowsmith, who owns part of the land in the Niobrara National Scenic River, described the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act best when he declared, “Boundaries don’t protect rivers, people do.”
