Wild side

The Wild and Scenic Rivers stamp pane

The Wild and Scenic Rivers stamps will begin flowing into the nation’s mailboxes this week.

The 12-stamp pane highlights images from the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, including:

  • Merced River, the main waterway flowing through Yosemite Valley, CA
  • An Idaho segment of the Owyhee River, where desert canyons are carved into volcanic rock
  • Alaska’s Koyukuk River, which originates in the Brooks Range within the Arctic Circle
  • Niobrara River, a tree-lined haven for wildlife amid an otherwise treeless prairie in Nebraska
  • Snake River in Wyoming, where the Grand Tetons provide a spectacular backdrop
  • Flathead River, a Montana stream that is part of a wildlife habitat that includes grizzly bears
  • Missouri River, where the White Cliffs section in Montana remains virtually unchanged since Lewis and Clark’s 1805 explorations
  • Skagit River in Washington state, which is among the nation’s most fertile salmon habitats
  • Deschutes River, an Oregon stream punctuated by beautiful cascades over volcanic rock formations
  • Tlikakila River in Alaska, where moose, caribou, Dall sheep, bears, wolves and sockeye salmon thrive
  • Ontonagon River of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, which runs northward into Lake Superior and is rich with native trout
  • Pennsylvania’s Clarion River, which flows through lands that are home to some of the tallest old-growth forest in the Northeast

Overall, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, established by a 1968 law, is comprised of more than 200 free-flowing rivers that are noted for remarkable attributes, including fish and wildlife, geology, recreation and cultural or historical significance.

Derry Noyes, a USPS art director, used existing photographs to design the pane, which will be available at Post Offices and usps.com.