2021 First-Class Forever Stamp,Heritage Breeds: San Clemente Island Goat

US #5589
2021 San Clemente Island Goat – Heritage Breeds

• Pictures a San Clemente Island goat
• Part of the set which commemorates 10 different heritage breeds known for their versatility, adaptability, and unique genetics

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Set:  Heritage Breeds
Value:  55¢ First Class Mail Rate (Forever)
First Day of Issue:  May 17, 2021
First Day City:  Mount Vernon, Virginia
Quantity Issued:  25,000,000
Printed by:  Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method:  Offset, Flexographic
Format:  Panes of 20
Tagging:  Phosphor, block tag

Why the stamp was issued:  To recognize heritage breeds and their importance in horticulture over the years.

About the stamp designs:  Pictures a photograph the heritage breed known as the San Clemente Island goat.  Photograph by Aliza Elizarov.

First Day City:  The First Day of Issue Ceremony was held in Mount Vernon, Virginia, home of Accokeek Foundation’s Heritage Breed Livestock Conservation Program within the National Colonial Farm at Piscataway Park.  The program is home to a herd of milking Devon cows, one of the breeds pictured on the stamps.

About the Heritage Breeds set:  These 10 stamps were issued to recognize heritage breeds and their importance to horticulture over the years.  The breeds pictured include the mulefoot hog, Wyandotte chicken, milking Devon cow, Narragansett turkey, American mammoth jackstock donkey, cotton patch goose, San Clemente Island goat, American cream draft horse, Cayuga duck, and Barbados blackbelly sheep.

History the stamp represents:  Some heritage breeds were purposely created by our ancestors.  However, some happened naturally – like San Clemente Island goats.

San Clemente Island is located off the coast of southern California and is managed by the US Navy.  In 1875, goats were brought to the island from Santa Catalina Island and allowed to wander freely.  The goat population grew, and when the Navy took over the island in 1934, they began hunting and trapping the goats until 1972.  At that point, the 15,000 goats on the island were becoming a nuisance.

By 1980, just 4,000 goats were still on the island, but they were still threatening native plant and animal species.  While the US Navy wanted to continue eradication efforts, they were blocked from doing so in court by an animal welfare group.  Instead, the court called on trappers to catch the remaining goats on the island.  Captured goats were then brought to the mainland where they were adopted and redomesticated.

Today, San Clemente Island goats are critically endangered, though they have adapted well to a variety of climates.  Perhaps, under the watchful eye of farmers, these once-nuisance goats will safely make a comeback in captivity.