Aurora Firth, an 18 year-old home-schooled student from Anchor Point, Alaska was awarded Best of Show in the 2005 Alaska Federal Junior Duck Stamp Art Competition. Aurora, who was also the Alaska Best of Show Winner in 2001, 2003, and 2004, topped this year's competition with an exquisite color pencil drawing of a hooded merganser pair, titled "Mergansers at Sunrise.? This is the last year Aurora will be eligible to compete in the contest.
For the 2005 contest, a total of 1015 entries were received from 67 different public, private and home schools across Alaska. Three First, Second, and Third Place winners, along with 16 Honorable Mentions, were selected from each of four grade groups (K-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12). The Alaska Best of Show Winner was selected from the twelve First Place winners, and will now go on to the national competition in Washington, D.C. The winning artwork from the National Junior Duck Stamp Art Competition will be reproduced as a collector's stamp to generate funds for environmental education and scholarships for youth.
The judges for this year's competition were Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock, host of Alaska Native News on Alaska Public Radio; Sandy Jamieson, Fairbanks artist; Paul Williams Sr., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Refuge Information Technician from the village of Beaver; Heidi Hahn, Fairbanks artist; and Todd Logan, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Chief of Refuges.
The Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program integrates art and science in order to teach the importance of wetlands and waterfowl conservation. Students are encouraged to research a species of waterfowl and its habitat, and to incorporate the results of their research into an artwork. Students are also encouraged to submit a conservation message with their art design. Aurora's conservation message this year, "Those who love the earth and its inhabitants will use its treasures wisely and protect its future," will compete against messages from the other state winners at the national level for overall best conservation message.
An awards ceremony for all 100 winners of the 2005 Alaska Federal Junior Duck Stamp Art Competition will be held on Saturday, April 30, at the Wedgewood Resort in Fairbanks starting at 1:00 p.m. The public will be able to view each student's winning artwork. This ceremony will also coincide with the larger Fairbanks "Spring Migration Celebration? event that will feature a variety of bird-themed activities for the whole family.
The Federal Junior Duck Stamp Art Competition began in 1990 as a pilot program at Florida's J.N. "Ding? Darling National Wildlife Refuge. The contest expanded into a national conservation education program with the passage of the 1994 Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program Act. Alaska's first contest was held in 1996.
An electronic version of Aurora Firth's winning artwork is available. Contact Bruce Woods at (907) 786-3695. You can learn more about the Alaska Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program and Art Competition at http://alaska.fws.gov/jrduck/index.htm.
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 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 63 Fish and Wildlife Management offices and 81 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 Assistance program, which 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,
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visit our home page at http://www.fws.gov
