If you hurry to the U.S. Post Office, you still have a chance to buy the new Pacific Coast Rain Forest stamps that came out at the end of March. This is one of two wildlife species stamp due out this year, which is a great contrast with 1999 when you had a choice of insects, wolves, Sonoran Desert and others. The second wildlife stamp is due out in the fall.
The rainforest collection despicts numerous species on a single panel the same way the Sonoran Desert issue did. The back of the pane of stamps carries the following description:
Temperate rain forest stretches along the Pacific coast from northern California to the Gulf of Alaska. Characterized by the occurrence of Sitka spruce, this ecosystem typically occupies a relatively narrow strip between the ocean and the mountains. The climate is mild and very wet--average annual precipitation ranges from 80 to 160 inches. Summer fogs are common, and intense winter storms being large amounts of rain and strong winds.Immense old-growth conifers form a canopy over a luxurient understory of ferns, mosses, herbs, and shrubs. This ecosystem supports the greatest accumulation of organic material per square mile in the world. The rain forest is home to many bird and mammal species, some populations have been seriously reduced in size. Numerous streams and rivers abound with fish and amphibians.
The pane includes the following listed on the key: 1. Western hemlock, 2. common raven, 3. Roosevelt elk, 4. vine maple, 5. Sitka spruce, 6. harlequin duck, 7. western sword fern, 8. deer fern, 9. varied thrush, 10. Douglas squirrel, 11. dwarf Oregongrape, 12. winter wren, 13. Oregon oxalis, 14. red huckleberry, 15. American dipper, 16. Pacific giant salamander, 17. western tiger swallowtail, 18. folios lichen, 19. banana slug, 20. Chinook salmon parr, 21. cutthroat trout, 22. rough-skinned newt, 23. tailed frog, 24. caddisfly larvae, 25. stair-step moss, and 26. snail-eating ground beetle.
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