Louques acrylic painting of a pair of snow geese bested 249 other entries and will become the 2003 -2004 Federal Duck Stamp, which goes on sale July 1, 2003. Terry Doughty of Brookfield, Wisconsin, prepared an acrylic rendering of a male and female wood duck for a second-place finish. Karen Latham of Hastings, Minnesota captured third-place honors for her watercolor rendition of a ring-necked duck.
The Federal Duck Stamp Contest is sponsored each year by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
"Waterfowl hunters are required to buy Duck Stamps, and stamp collectors, art lovers and conservationists have purchased Duck Stamps for years to add to their albums, enjoy as works of art, and contribute to waterfowl conservation," said Assistant Secretary Craig Manson. "But today were going big time. Our National Wildlife Refuges are turning 100 and were asking all Americans who care about the environment to consider buying a Duck Stamp as a way of ensuring these great lands are protected for the next 100 years."
The top 20 paintings from this years Federal Duck Stamp Contest will be displayed at the Easton Waterfowl Festival in Easton, Maryland, November 10-12. They will also appear at the Wildlife West Festival in Redlands, California, later next month.
All waterfowl hunters age 16 and older are required to purchase and carry Duck Stamps. Ninety-eight percent of the proceeds from the $15 Duck Stamp goes into the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, which purchases wetlands for the National Wildlife Refuge System.
"I am thankful that the judges appreciated my painting," were Louques first words. "Its a dream come true."
The paintings background depicts the lighthouse at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.
"I wanted to use a refuge with a distinctive feature as background since next year is the National Wildlife Refuge Systems Centennial," said Louque. "The lighthouse is such a majestic feature, plus my painting is based on the effect of light, so I called the manager at Chincoteague NWR and he sent me photos of the lighthouse. There was a flock of snow geese in the picture... It must have been a sign."
Eligible species for this years contest were the gadwall, snow goose, wood duck, wigeon and ring-necked duck.
The greater snow goose is slightly larger then the more common lessor snow goose. The greater snow goose nests in the extreme eastern Arctic areas of Canada and in Greenland. The geese migrate during the fall and winter months along coastal marshes and crop lands from New Jersey to North Carolina. They winter in large flocks and their raucous calling can be heard for several miles.
The Federal Duck Stamp Contest is the nations only federally-sponsored art competition. No cash prize is awarded, but winning can boost the professional reputation of even a previously unknown wildlife artist. Winning artists stand to make hundreds of thousands of dollars from the sale of limited editions of prints of their Duck Stamp designs.
In addition to waterfowl hunters, stamp collectors, wildlife art lovers and conservationists also buy Duck Stamps to add to their collections, enjoy as a miniature work of art or as a simple way to support conservation. Duck Stamps can also be used to gain admission to those national wildlife refuges that charge entry fees.
Duck Stamps bearing this years winning design will go on sale at post offices, national wildlife refuges, some national retail chain stores, and various sporting-goods stores nationwide July 1, 2003. The 2003-2004 Duck Stamp will be available at select locations in both a self-adhesive format and the traditional gummed format.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife 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 further information about programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, visit our website at http://midwest.fws.gov
