United States Wildlife Habitats 18c Stamps 1981

This is a tenant block of four, first day cover for the Protect Wildlife Habitats 18c issue that was posted in Reno, Nevada on June 26th, 1981 with a Traditional FDOI Cancellation.

Wildlife Habitats 18c Stamps United States 1981 Tenant Block of Four

(Scott #1921-1924 set)
(Stanley Gibbons #1895-#1898 set)
(Michel #1493-#1496 set)

To increase the public’s awareness of the need to preserve America’s wildlife habitats, the United States Postal Service issued a tenant block of four commemorative stamps showing the Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), the Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus), the North American badger (Taxidea taxus), and the North American Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis. Each animal was shown in its natural habitat with a call to save this specific habitat.

The specific animal show on each of these commemorative stamps are as follows:
Scott #1921 Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) – Wetlands
Scott #1922 North American badger (Taxidea taxus) – Grasslands
Scott #1923 North American Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) – Mountains
Scott #1924 Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) – Woodlands

The designer for the 1981 Wildlife Habitats issue was Chuck Ripper, a noted American wildlife artist who also designed the popular 1980 Coral Reefs issue. Ripper has a prolific body of work that includes illustrations or paintings for books, magazines, catalogs, museums, stamps, universities and even candy bars. One of Ripper’s greatest achievements was the 1987 North American Wildlife 50 stamp issue (Scott #2286-#2335). Ripper also designed five hummingbird stamps in 1992. Ripper has designed a total of 80 stamps in all for the United States Postal Service.