Two-time Federal Duck Stamp art contest winner, Robert Hautman, will join U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Acting Director Marshall Jones to unveil the 2001- 2002 Federal Duck Stamp at a June 29 ceremony in Washington, D.C.
The Fish and Wildlife Service will sell the new Duck Stamps for $15 before and after the ceremony, which begins at 10 a.m. on the lower level of the Smithsonian Institutions National Postal Museum at 2 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E. Following the ceremony, Hautman, who lives in Delano, Minnesota, will sign his stamps. A special cancellation for the new Duck Stamp will be available at this event only. It reads "Duck Stamp Station, Washington, D.C., June 29, 2001."
Also on hand for the event will be Jim O=Donnell of the National Postal Museum, Tom Ferguson, director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which prints the Federal Duck Stamp, and District of Columbia Postmaster Delores Killette.
Hautmans 2001-2002 Federal Duck Stamp, which goes on sale nationwide July 1, depicts a northern pintail floating on a serene pond.
Formally known as Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps, Duck Stamps are a required purchase each year for waterfowl hunters age 16 and older. A growing number of stamp collectors and conservationists also purchase them as a way to contribute to wildlife and habitat conservation, and the Duck Stamp program has become one of the nations most successful conservation efforts. Duck Stamps also afford free entrance to those national wildlife refuges where entry fees are charged.
Money from the sale of Duck Stamps is used to acquire wetlands for the National Wildlife Refuge System, one of the worlds most diverse collections of lands and waters dedicated to wildlife. To date more than half a billion dollars in Duck Stamp sales has been used to purchase more than 5 million acres of habitat for the 520-unit refuge system.
Federal Duck Stamps are available for $15 at most U.S. post offices, national wildlife refuges, Wal-Mart and K-Mart stores, and some sporting goods stores. Pressure Sensitive Adhesives (stamp mounted on a dollar bill-sized carrier sheet packed with information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), collectible cancellations and licensed products are available from the Federal Duck Stamp Office by calling toll-free 1-877-887-5508, and by mail through the Cabela=s Inc. sporting equipment catalogue.
Federal Duck Stamps are also available in the traditional gummed format. The gummed Federal Duck Stamp is available from the U.S. Postal Service at 1-800-STAMP24, U.S. Postal Service Philatelic Windows, Amplex Corporation at 1-800-852-4897 and Duck Stamp dealers. The 1999-2000 and the 2000-2001 Federal Duck Stamp is still available from the U.S. Postal Service and some dealers.
At the June 29 event at the Postal Museum, visitors will have an opportunity to explore the newly-renovated "Artistic License: The Duck Stamp Story" exhibit in the museums Jeannette Cantrell Rudy gallery. The 800-square-foot gallery features an array of Duck Stamp memorabilia highlighting the Federal Duck Stamp Program and its contributions to conservation and philately. Jeannette Cantrell Rudy, an avid Duck Stamp collector, has loaned much of her collection to the museum.
The 2001 Federal Duck Stamp Design Contest will be held November 5, 6, and 7 at the Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C. The contest will be open for entries on July 1; all entries must be postmarked by midnight September 15. Contest rules and regulations are available from the Federal Duck Stamp Office, 1849 C Street, NW, Room 2058, Washington, D.C. 20240, or by calling 1-877-887-5508, toll free.
Contest rules are also available on the Duck Stamp Offices Internet homepage at http://duckstamps.fws.gov">. Artists may download the entry form and submit a printed copy along with their art. The only eligible species in this years contest is the black scoter, the only North American migratory waterfowl species never to be depicted on a Federal Duck Stamp.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 94-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 535 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
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For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, visit our home page at http://www.fws.gov">
