About This Stamp
From an abundance of fish off the coast of Georgia to the dazzling coral displays in American Samoa and the Gulf of Mexico, U.S. national marine sanctuaries and marine national monuments have protected areas with special ecological, cultural, and historical significance for 50 years.
The 16 stamps on the National Marine Sanctuaries pane showcase the abundant wildlife and diverse ecosystems that can be found throughout the National Marine Sanctuary System.
Supporting some of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world, U.S. national marine sanctuaries and marine national monuments preserve habitats that are especially vital for the survival of threatened and endangered species and safeguard important breeding and feeding grounds. They also help preserve significant aspects of the nation’s maritime history and celebrate the ancient sites, cultural artifacts, and living traditions of the Indigenous peoples who have inhabited these regions for millennia.
The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act, which established a framework for designating national marine sanctuaries, was signed into law on October 23, 1972. Today, the National Marine Sanctuary System is managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Encompassing more than 620,000 square miles, the sanctuary system currently comprises 15 national marine sanctuaries and two marine national monuments, stretching from the North Atlantic to the South Pacific, and from the Florida Keys to the Pacific Northwest.
Art director Greg Breeding designed the pane using existing photographs. A map of the National Marine Sanctuary System illustrated by Todd M. Detwiler is printed on the pane verso.
The National Marine Sanctuaries stamps are being issued as Forever® stamps. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.
Stamp Art Director, Stamp Designer
Greg Breeding
Greg Breeding is a graphic designer and principal of Journey Group, a design company he co-founded in 1992, located in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was creative director until 2013, at which time he began serving as president and continued in that role through 2023.
Breeding’s fascination with modernism began while studying design at Virginia Commonwealth University. His affinity with the movement continues and motivates his ongoing advanced studies at the Basel School of Design in Switzerland most every summer.
As an art director for postage stamp design since 2012, Breeding has designed more than 100 stamps covering a diverse array of subjects, from Star Wars droids and Batman to Harlem Renaissance writers and the transcontinental railroad.
His work has been recognized in annual design competitions held by Graphis, AIGA, PRINT magazine, and Communication Arts.
Breeding lives in North Garden, Virginia, with his wife and enjoys nothing so much as frolicking on the floor with his grandchildren.