About This Stamp
America’s Wild and Scenic Rivers are those deemed outstandingly remarkable for values including fish and wildlife, geology, recreation, and cultural or historical significance. These special streams are allowed to flow freely through natural settings without man-made alterations. With this pane of stamps, the U.S. Postal Service® honors these American treasures, represented in a portfolio of a dozen exquisite river photographs.
Each stamp bears a label naming the river depicted. They are: “MERCED RIVER” (photo by Michael Melford); “OWYHEE RIVER” (photo by Michael Melford); “KOYUKUK RIVER” (photo by Michael Melford); “NIOBRARA RIVER” (photo by Michael Melford); “SNAKE RIVER” (photo by Tim Palmer); “FLATHEAD RIVER” (photo by Tim Palmer); “MISSOURI RIVER” (photo by Bob Wick, a staff photographer for the Bureau of Land Management); “SKAGIT RIVER” (photo by Tim Palmer); “DESCHUTES RIVER” (photo by Bob Wick, BLM); “TLIKAKILA RIVER” (photo by Michael Melford); “ONTONAGON RIVER” (photo by Tim Palmer); “CLARION RIVER” (photo by Bob Wick, BLM). Each stamp also bears the words “FOREVER” and “USA” in the same capitalized block-letter font as the river labels.
Since its inception in 1968, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System has grown to more than 200 river segments — about 13,000 miles of approximately 3 million U.S. river-miles.
With outdoor recreation increasingly popular, Americans desire clean rivers for swimming, fishing, and boating — and healthy riparian environments for camping, hunting, hiking, and climbing.
We have lined rivers with factories, roads, and cities; engineered them for shipping; dammed them for flood control and hydropower; tapped them for irrigation; and relied on them for waste removal. Each of these uses compromises river health.
Through Wild and Scenic Rivers, we strive for balance. Special streams and the lands surrounding them are reserved as sanctuaries, where clean waters support habitats for native wildlife including iconic species like bears, wolves, moose, eagles, and salmon.
Art director Derry Noyes designed the pane using existing photographs.
The Wild and Scenic Rivers 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, Designer, and Typographer
Derry Noyes
For more than 40 years Derry Noyes has designed and provided art direction for close to 800 United States postage stamps and stamp products. She holds a bachelor of arts degree from Hampshire College and a master of fine arts degree from Yale University.
Noyes worked as a graphics designer at Beveridge and Associates, a Washington, D.C., firm, until 1979 when she established her own design firm, Derry Noyes Graphics. Her clients have included museums, corporations, foundations, and architectural and educational institutions. Her work has been honored by American Illustration, the Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington, Communication Arts, Critique magazine, Graphis, Creativity International, and the Society of Illustrators.
Before becoming an art director for the U.S. Postal Service, she served as a member of the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee from 1981 to 1983.
Noyes is a resident of Washington, D.C.