New Guam stamp is impressive

The new U.S. Postal Service Guam stamp is poetic for its use of lighting, especially the palms in silhouette, and its human scale, sense of movement and vitality added by the jogger.

Here's what the post office had to say about it:

Hagåtña Bay (international price) 90 cents – on sale June 1The Postal Service will issue this stamp in the Scenic American Landscapes series to honor the Territory of Guam. Located approximately 1,600 miles east of the Philippines in the Pacific Ocean, Guam is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands. Approximately 212 square miles in size — roughly three times the area of Washington, D.C. — Guam is home to a population of approximately 158,000 people, including native Guamanians, known as Chamorro, as well as others of European and Asian descent. Today the island is a popular destination for tourists, with some 1.5 million people visiting the island annually to enjoy its natural beauty. The stamp features a photograph by Michael S. Yamashita of a sunset of Hagåtña Bay in Hagatna, the capital of Guam.

Others who had posts about the stamp before me include Life on an Island Paradise and Latitude 13.

Pacific Daily News: Guam stamp debuts June 1

This isn't the first Guam stamp. I don't know what the history of Guam stamps are, but here are are some images of 1 cent and 2 cent Guam stamps postmarked 1930 and 1931

First impressions of Guam

The writer at Fewl.Net describes himself as "just another Navy guy living in Japan." He visited the island recently and wrote a wonderful post about the experience. It begins:

We recently pulled in to the US territory of Guam for a four day port call. I had never been to Guam, and anything I’ve ever heard of it from other Sailors,was about the lack of anything to do. I went out expecting to be bored out of my mind, but instead had one of the greatest port calls to date.

Brown Tree Snakes

I realize Brown Tree Snakes are predators and a particular threat to some birds, especially the Guam Rail. I live in DC and have seen that bird at the National Zoo. Here's what the zoo's Web site has to say about the Guam Rail and the Brown Tree Snake:

The introduction of brown tree snakes (Boiga irregularis) in the 1950s almost spelled doom for the rails. Snakes feeding on the rails' young and eggs caused the Guam rail population to crash to only 21 birds by 1985. Other birds on Guam have been similarly affected by the brown tree snake. Guam Micronesian Kingfisher

I have to admit that in the years I was on Guam, almost three years in the mid-1970s and for a return visit about five years ago, that I have never seen a Brown Tree Snake. I spent much of my time living off base in the southern end of the island. The snakes are largely out of sight.

The Siapan Tribune has a story about a request from Micronesia leaders to the DOD to release funding to help stop the spread of the snakes from guam.