Wild About Duck Stamps
2010 Federal Duck Stamp winner by Joseph Hautman.
James Hautman, an artist from Chaska, Minnesota, has been named the winner of the 2010 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest an annual competition hosted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Hautman’s acrylic painting of a pair of white-fronted geese will be made into the 2011-2012 Federal Duck Stamp, which will go on sale in late June 2011.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service produces the Federal Duck Stamp, which sells for $15 and raises about $25 million each year to provide critical funds for conserving wetlands for the benefit of wildlife and the enjoyment of people.
The Federal Duck Stamp Contest is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious federal wildlife art competition in America. Waterfowl hunters age 16 and older are required to purchase and carry the current Migratory Bird Conservation and Hunting Stamp – commonly known as the Duck Stamp when they are hunting. Conservationists, stamp collectors and others must also purchase the stamp in support of habitat for birds and other wildlife.
Ninety-eight percent of the proceeds from the Duck Stamp go to the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund which supports the purchase of acres of wetlands for inclusion into the National Wildlife Refuge System.
Since 1934, sales of Federal Duck Stamps have helped to purchase nearly six million acres of wildlife habitat for the Refuge System. To date, Duck Stamp funds have been used to acquire habitat at hundreds of refuges in nearly every state. A current Duck Stamp may also be used for free admission to any national wildlife refuge open to the public.
In 1989, the first Junior Duck Stamps ($5) were produced, teaching students across the nation about conservation through the arts. Revenue generated by the sales of Junior Duck Stamps funds environmental education programs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 2 territories (American Samoa and the Virgin Islands).
Both Federal Duck and Junior Duck Stamps are sold in many post offices across the country. You can also buy both stamps on the internet, and many sporting goods and outdoor stores sell the Federal Duck Stamps.