Soon after the first federal duck stamp appeared in 1934, states began issuing their own hunting stamps. Not intended for collectors, the stamps raised revenue for waterfowl conservation, validated hunting licenses, and controlled the number of hunters in a designated region. Ohio issued the first state waterfowl stamp in 1938 for hunters using its Pymatuning reservoir. Since then, over a thousand different state, local, and tribal stamps have been issued.
Mary T. Sheahan, National Postal Museum
