To obtain a high-resolution image of the stamp for media use only, email mark.r.saunders@usps.gov.

KALISPELL, MT — The scenes of Montana’s Glacier National Park will extend north and south of the U.S. border with the issuance of a stamp celebrating the nation’s 10th national park. The 85-cent international price stamp, good for postage up to 1-ounce to Canada or Mexico, goes on sale today at Post Offices nationwide, online at usps.com and by phone at 800-782-6724. The stamp also may be used for mailing 2-ounce domestic First-Class Mail.

“Throughout time, people have sought out Glacier National Park’s rugged peaks, clear waters and glacial-carved valleys, its landscape providing both resources and inspiration for those persistent enough to venture through it,” said Richard Burley, Kalispell, MT, Postmaster. “Today, the Postal Service is proud and honored to create this lasting tribute to Glacier National Park through the issuance of this stamp.”

Burley dedicated the stamp at the Kalispell, MT, Post Office. Joining Burley was Chas Cartwright, superintendent of Glacier National Park and a 24-year veteran of the National Park Service.

The stamp was designed by art director Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, MD, featuring a photo by National Geographic photographer Michael Melford of Mystic, CT. The stamp art shows Logan Pass, the highest point on the park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road. Peaks of the Northern Rocky Mountains fill the photo’s background. In the foreground, melting snowbanks reveal a meadow and wildflowers.

Named for the glaciers that sculpted the landscape more than 10,000 years ago and for the Little Ice Age glaciers there today, it was known to Native Americans as the “Shining Mountains” and the "Backbone of the World,” Glacier National Park preserves more than a million acres of forests, alpine meadows, lakes, rugged peaks and glacial-carved valleys in the Northern Rocky Mountains. The park is a haven for wildlife with 277 species of birds and 67 species of animals including the bald eagle, wolverine, lynx, mountain goat, bighorn sheep and wolf.

Those interested may view the Glacier National Park Stamp as well as many of this year’s other stamps on Facebook at facebook.com/USPSStamps, through Twitter @USPSstamps or on the website Beyond the Perf at beyondtheperf.com/2012-preview. Beyond the Perf is the Postal Service’s online site for background on upcoming stamp subjects, first-day-of-issue events and other philatelic news.

How to Order 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 a local Post Office, at The Postal Store website at 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 larger envelopes addressed to:

Glacier National Park International Rate Stamp
Postmaster
350 N. Meridian Rd.
Kalispell, MT, 59901-9998

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes by mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by March 19, 2012.

How to Order First-Day Covers
The Postal Service 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
P.O. Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014

Philatelic Product
There is one philatelic product available for this stamp issue: 575361, First-Day Cover, $1.29.

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

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Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at http://about.usps.com/news/welcome.htm.

For reporters interested in speaking with a regional Postal Service public relations professional on this issue, please go to http://about.usps.com/news/media-contacts/usps-local-media-contacts.pdf.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

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