HANOVER, MD — The Bass Pro Shops in Arundel Mills Mall, Hanover, MD  21076, will introduce the 2010-2011 Federal Duck Stamp at a ceremony on Friday, June 25, 2010.  Doors will open at 9:00 a.m. and the ceremony will begin at 10:00 a.m. The event is free and open to the public.

The U.S. Postal Service will be at the Arundel Mills Bass Pro Shops between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. to sell the Duck Stamp and offer a special souvenir postmark.

The U.S. Department of the Interior issued the $15 Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp for the 2010-2011 waterfowl hunting season. The stamp will be for sale at Post Offices nationwide June 25.

Federal Duck Stamps are pictorial stamps produced by the Postal Service for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  They are not valid for postage. Originally created in 1934 as the federal licenses required for hunting migratory waterfowl, Federal Duck Stamps have a larger purpose today. Ninety-eight cents of every dollar generated by the sales of Federal Duck Stamps goes directly to purchase or lease wetland habitat for protection in the National Wildlife Refuge System. Thanks to collectors, hunters and conservationists, Duck Stamps sales have raised $750 million which has been used to buy 5.3 million acres of wetland for the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Requests for the special postmark are available through the mail.  Customers can send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Duck Stamp Station, 6655 Santa Barbara Road., Elkridge, MD 21075-9998.

All requests must be postmarked by July 25, 2010.

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