A Fine Focus on Endangered Species

World Wildlife Day, observed annually on March 3, provides an opportunity to reflect on Earth’s species and those of our nation — itself home to an astounding variety of life. In the five decades since President Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) into law following a unanimous Senate vote, other nations worldwide have emulated this pioneering American initiative.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the ESA, the U.S. Postal Service issued the 2023 Endangered Species stamps. The colorful and charismatic creatures whose photographs appear on the stamps are among those documented by Joel Sartore’s Photo Ark project. His ambitious goal is to photograph every species of animal living in human care, rare and common alike. “All creatures great and small,” he says. “They all have value.” 

“The goal,” says Sartore, “is to get people to look these animals in the eye and have some compassion — and realize that if these animals go away, so could we.” Since launching the project in 2006, Sartore has photographed nearly 17,000 species — and counting. 

Sartore’s studio-style portraits give vivid immediacy to the uniqueness of each individual creature pictured and to the species it represents. In narrowing his worldwide portfolio to those both endangered and American, he says, “I initially chose about 100 animals that would read well small — at the size of a postage stamp, literally. I think USPS did a great job in editing further. The stamps feature a perfect little cross section of animals.” 

The selection and composition process for the pane of stamps was “a juggling act,” says art director Derry Noyes, who pored over Sartore’s photos and designed the pane of stamps.

“The challenge was coming up with a mix that works well together, while making sure to showcase a broad range of species. And visually the pane is more interesting with different angles and points of view,” says Noyes. “I felt that it was important to include a few close-up views. Seeing their expression draws on our emotions. I hoped to evoke a sense of urgency, but also empathy for the animals.” 

Noyes made an early decision to use photographs with black backgrounds, though Sartore’s portfolio includes both black and white. Her rationale for not mixing the two: “The consistency of a black background behind all the animals is unifying. The main focus of each stamp is the animal.” 

“Beautiful stamps,” the designer contends, “are a simple and effective method to keep the subject of endangered species alive. Whatever we can do to keep endangered species in people’s minds, we must.”

The animals on the stamps, adds Sartore, “are helping to show us the way to how we can continue to live on the planet, too, as mammals ourselves. We have to have a stable climate, food to eat, rain, fresh water — the same things they need. These animals are begging us to pay attention while there’s still time to save species. When we save endangered species, we’re saving ourselves.”

And in regard to his photography appearing on U.S. postage stamps? “The little kid in me rejoices in this,” says Sartore. “I grew up knowing and loving stamps — I collected philatelic plate blocks. I don’t know how many times my parents drove me to the Ralston, Nebraska, Post Office to get stamps — until they trusted me to go on my bicycle.” 

Today, the mission-minded photographer’s travels are a bit more ambitious than those Post Office outings of his youth. He circles the planet from his Lincoln, Nebraska, home to photograph animals at hundreds of zoos, aquariums, wildlife rehabilitation facilities, and captive-breeding centers, where rare species are given better odds of avoiding extinction. Sartore concludes: “If we think that we can throw half of these species away to extinction and that we’ll be just fine, that’s just not accurate. It’s just not going to work out that way.”