Depicted on the Alpine Tundra stamps are 24 animal and plant species, all of which could be encountered on Rocky Mountain's alpine tundra. The stamp is a rendering by artist Dawson, showing the diversity of the mountain's plant and animal fauna in an almost imaginary scene in his beautiful acrylic painting.

Said stamp artist John Dawson: "In nature, there is beauty in the complexity of plants and animals co-existing together in their natural setting. They are featured on the stamps together to showcase the need to help protect our ecosystems and environment."

The stamp pane depicts a summer tundra scene about 12,000 feet high in Rocky Mountain National Park in northern Colorado. Elk and bighorn sheep graze the open areas while smaller mammals — a pika, a yellow-bellied marmot and an ermine — stay close to the rocks, ready to take cover if threatened by a predator, such as the soaring golden eagle. In the air are horned larks, recognized by the black hornlike feathers on their heads and the high-pitched, tinkling notes of their songs. Meanwhile, butterflies flit about rockslides, rest on rocks, and sip nectar from alpine flowers.