The 2004-2005 Migratory Waterfowl Hunting and Conservation Stamp is now available at thousands of Post Offices across the nation, as well as at many sporting goods retailers, discount, and convenience stores that sell hunting licenses. Each year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issues a new stamp. Ninety-eight percent of the revenue raised from the sale of each $15 stamp is used directly for habitat conservation, making the purchase of Federal Duck Stamps one of the most effective ways to contribute to waterfowl habitat in the United States.
The 2004 Federal Duck Stamp marks the 71st year of sales for the program, which has raised more than $670 million to permanently protect more than 5.2 million acres of prime wetland habitat at hundreds of National Wildlife Refuges and waterfowl protection areas across the country. All waterfowl hunters over the age of sixteen must carry a signed Federal Duck Stamp to hunt migratory waterfowl. The stamp also provides users free admission to National Wildlife Refuges where fees are charged.
Students from around the Nation compete to win the Federal Junior Duck Stamp contest. The winning image is selected for the Junior Duck Stamp. Funds raised from sales of the $5 Junior Duck Stamp provide funding for educational initiatives that teach young people the benefits of wildlife habitat conservation.
The artist for this years Federal Duck Stamp is Scot Storm, and the Junior Duck Stamp artist is Adam Nisbett. Storm, whose dynamic painting of a pair of redhead ducks gave him his first Federal Duck Stamp Contest win last fall, is a native of Sartell, Minnesota. Though an architect by training, Storm decided to pursue his passion for wildlife art full-time in 1999 after winning several prestigious art competitions. Adam Nisbett, 17, is a home-schooled student from Saint James, Missouri. His painting of a pair of fulvous whistling-ducks was picked from among 26,500 other entries submitted by students in kindergarten through 12th grade across the country to appear on the 2004-2005 Junior Duck Stamp.
For more information on where to purchase the new stamp, visit the Federal Duck Stamp Programs internet site at http://duckstamps.fws.gov.
