Congratulations to Alain Soltys-Gray, 16, of Thunder Mountain High School in Juneau, who took top honors in the 2020 Alaska Junior Duck Stamp Contest with a painting of a wood duck. Alain’s artwork was choose as the Best of Show out of the 252 entries from across the state to represent Alaska in the National Junior Duck Stamp Contest that will be held ‘virtually’ on April 17.
Best of Show Conservation Message went to Oliver Trobaugh, 12, of Seward Middle School in Seward, for the thoughtful words “It is important to conserve local waterfowl, not just because they are food for us, but they serve an important role in our ecosystem.”
Judging of this year’s contest was done virtually. Appreciation goes out to support provided by Katie Pervier (JDS assistant), Chuck Frost, Callie Gesmundo, Hannah Vincelette, and Eric Taylor (USFWS) for their assistance with many aspects of the contest and to Ducks Unlimited for financial support.
The Federal Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest is the culmination of a year-long Junior Duck Stamp conservation program used by educators across the nation. This year, more than 28,000 students participated in state Junior Duck Stamp competitions in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Proceeds from sales of the $5 Junior Duck Stamp support environmental education.
For complete contest results for Alaska visit http://www.fws.gov/alaska/jrduck/ (all art should be up on the website soon!) and for results of the national contest visit http://www.fws.gov/juniorduck/.
-FWS-
