Tallgrass Prairie Image Wins National Stamp Contest

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve announced today that the preserve was the selected winner for the Midwest Region stamp in the Passport to Your National Parks Photo Contest. The winning image was photographed by preserve volunteer Kevin Sink. In addition to this honor is a $500 donation, which will be used to implement the preserve's schoolhouse education program.

Each year Eastern National holds a photo contest open to National Park Service employees and Volunteers-in-Parks to select ten images (one national and nine regional) for the collectable Passport commemorative stamp set. The stamps are distributed on a single perforated sheet and can be detached and placed in designated sections of the Passport book. The Passport book is a booklet designed to be a travel companion for park visitors. As visitors travel the national parks, they may also collect rubber-stamped ink cancellations inside the Passport book.

The 2006 stamp set will be available by February 21, 2006 and can be purchased online at www.eParks.com; by calling (877) 628-7275; or by visiting a participating national park.

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is a public/private partnership with the National Park Service, The Nature Conservancy, and the Kansas Park Trust. Located two miles north of Strong City on Kansas State Highway 177 (the Flint Hills National Scenic Byway), Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is open daily from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day. For more information or to make group arrangements, e-mail: tapr_interpretation@nps.gov or call the preserve at (620) 273-8494.

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