"Birders Gone Wild" ...I knew that would get your attention! ; )
From home base in Oak Harbor, Ohio, Kim writes: After months of planning; after hundreds of hours of careful thought and consideration; after consulting with their wildlife diversity partners and carefully listening to our input; the Ohio Division of Wildlife (ODOW) proudly unveils the Ohio Wildlife Legacy Stamp! 
I'll let the ODOW give you the nuts and bolts of the stamp and all the great things the funds it generates will do. It's all on their website HERE. ODOW has done a remarkable job with this thing and the information on the website is incredibly thorough without being boring.
Someone obviously put a great deal of time and thought into every detail of the stamp, from the design of the printed materials to the fabulous information on the website. Someone clearly cares about this stamp being a success and making a difference.
---That someone is Laura Jones.
With the support of many great people at the ODOW, Laura and her team have done an extraordinary job; when you purchase the stamp you'll see what I mean. The attention to detail is apparent before you even get to the stamp itself. I mean, for goodness sakes, even the envelope is beautiful!
Open it up, and the goodies just keep coming.
I'm going to buy a ton of these things as gifts for my friends and family. I'm even going to give them to some of my enemies. Maybe they'll actually start to like me if I give them something this cool! : )
Look at all this great stuff!
Can you believe that you can get all this for just $15 and that $14 of that supports Ohio wildlife conservation?! You know what? My feelings won't be hurt if you just want to leave this blog and go get one (or several!) of these things right now! Go ahead, GO GET ONE (or several) HERE!
Or, you can come to Ohio, attend an absolutely brilliant conference (this thing attracts more than 900 people each year!--yes, I said 900!), order your stamp in advance at a special reduced price, and pick it up with your name tag at the conference! Ohio Wildlife Diversity Conference details HERE.
The 2010 Ohio Wildlife Legacy Stamp!
In addition to the great job they do regulating hunting, fishing, and trapping in the state, the ODOW can also promote and support wildlife diversity initiatives because they are blessed with an all-star staff. ODOW has assembled a team of great people that have mad-skills at all kinds of things. Case in point...
Take a look at the Baltimore Oriole eye candy on the background sheet that the stamp comes on. The artist is Natalie Beale and she works in the
ODOW graphics department.
You also get this fun window cling.
What a deal for $15!
ODOW has really gone all out to prove their commitment to wildlife diversity. Each year they host a Wildlife Diversity Partners Conference to touch base with their partners across Ohio and encourage anyone involved with wildlife education, research, and conservation to work together for the greater good.
The ODOW is so committed to making sure they "get it right" on every level, that they not only brought their diversity partners in to help make decisions at the very start of the Legacy Stamp idea, they actually gave us the honor of selecting the winner of the first photography contest!
---You might just say that Ohio's Division of Wildlife ROCKS!
Speaking of the photography contest winner, I want to mention Russell Reynolds, the amateur photographer who won this year's stamp photography contest. Not only is he a talented photographer, he is also one of the sweetest and most genuine individuals I've ever met. Watch for more on Russell in a future blog post. There's a fragment of his story HERE. Russell will be joining us to autograph copies of the stamp during our International Migratory Bird Day celebration that takes place during the Biggest Week in American Birding. Here are some details: BIGGEST WEEK IN AMERICAN BIRDING
Every birder should buy this stamp. It's a tiny investment that supports some of the world-class birding areas here in Ohio that ODOW maintains and makes accessible to birders and all wildlife enthusiasts; places like Magee Marsh, for example. If you don't live in Ohio, you should still buy a stamp! It'll give you an excuse to come to Ohio and go birding with us and reap the benefits of the great things your contribution will help support.
I know all parents say these things about their kids, but, isn't she just the most beautiful thing? We love her, but OMG...this child requires more work than we could have ever imagined! In spite of the fact that we've raised other kids, this one is a handful! Fortunately for us, she's also a very good baby in many ways and everyone loves her. We have people from all over Ohio pitching in to help raise her, and while there are still moments when Kenn and I would like to sell her to the gypsies, I think our baby is going to bring a lot of good to the world. She is so full of bubbly energy that we gave her her own website! Check it out: THE BABY 
This "kid" has brought incredible joy to our lives, but also requires a lot more attention than the average child. On top of that, "little BSBO" has experienced an astounding growth spurt in the last few years, and people who haven't seen us in a while are completely shocked when they see "little BSBO" now! We're so proud, and we know that "little BSBO" will continue to do really great things for the world. If you're curious about this growth spurt, take a look at these pictures and see what I mean: "little BSBO" 
He's all grown up now and has done really well for himself. But, a year or so ago, he realized that it was time to make some major changes, and came running home to Daddy for help. Kenn has been helping him through a remarkable change and the new and improved version will really knock everyone's socks off! 
