Nature and Conservation

On January 30, 1975, the USS Monitor National Marine Sanctuary was established off the coast of North Carolina.  It was America’s first national marine sanctuary created under the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act, passed three years earlier.

On December 28, 1973, President Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act into law in an effort to protect threatened species from extinction.

On December 12, 2002, the US first celebrated National Poinsettia Day, honoring two of the men who helped make these festive plants popular in the US – Joel Roberts Poinsett and Paul Ecke, Jr.

On October 15, 1966, the Wolf Trap Farm National Park for Performing Arts was established in Virginia.  It’s the only National Park dedicated exclusively to the performing arts.

On September 20, 2011, the USPS issued its fourth Semipostal stamp. The Save Vanishing Species stamp has raised over $7 million in the years since it was first placed on sale.

On September 3, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Wilderness Act.  The act protected 9 million acres from development and created the National Wilderness Preservation System that consists of more than 111 million acres today.

On September 2, 1988, the USPS issued its first coil stamp printed by two totally different procedures. The Honeybee stamp was lithographed and engraved.

On August 16, 1916, the US and Canada signed the first Migratory Bird Treaty to protect the birds that live in both nations. Several programs came out of this agreement that has helped to save hundreds of species of migratory birds.

On August 10, 1936, President Franklin Roosevelt used the power of the 1906 Antiquities Act to create Joshua Tree National Monument. Decades later, the trees received additional protection when the area was made into a national park.