The day=s events include a golf tournament, a silent auction to raise funds for the Joe Hautman Habitat Restoration Project, dinner, and a ceremony recognizing Hautman=s success in the 2002- 2003 federal Duck Stamp design contest.
The public is invited to attend the free celebration. To make reservations to golf and for dinner ($100 golf and dinner; or $25 dinner) participants should call Mike Juhnke, director of operations for Turn-in-Poachers, at 651- 406-9111.
Hautman, a native Minnesotan, won the prestigious Federal Duck Stamp design contest in November 2001 with his depiction of a drake black scoter flanked by three hens, silhouetted against a brilliant sun. This is the second win for Hautman; his portrayal of spectacled eiders won top honors in 1992. Hautman and brothers Jim and Bob have won seven of the last 13 federal Duck Stamp design contests.
The event is being sponsored by the Minnesota Waterfowl Association, Hautman Brothers Fine Art, Turn in Poachers, Lake Minnetonka Stamp Club and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in conjunction with Delta Waterfowl, Ducks Unlimited, Minnesota Deer Hunters Association and Pheasants Forever.
All waterfowl hunters age 16 and older must purchase and carry a Federal Duck Stamp while hunting. In addition, the Federal Duck Stamp has become a prized purchase of art and stamp collectors. Ninety-eight percent of the purchase price of each Duck Stamp is used to acquire wetland habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife species.
The 2002-2003 Federal Duck Stamp will go on sale July 1. Duck Stamps can be obtained from U.S. post offices, national wildlife refuges, most Walmarts and K-Marts and stores that sell hunting and fishing supplies. They sell for $15.
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 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses nearly 540 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.
For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, visit our home page at http://midwest.fws.gov">
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | | | | | | |
