A Gadsden High School student won the New Mexico Junior Duck Stamp Competitions best in show award for his entry "Duck Family."
Oscar Urbina, a seventeen year old from Anthony, received the highest honor for his colored pencil rendition depicting a family of canvasback ducks. On March 25, Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge hosted the state-wide judging. The artwork will now be sent on to Washington D.C. to represent New Mexico in the National Junior Duck Stamp Competition.
An awards ceremony and gallery opening will be held at the Macey Fine Arts Center on the New Mexico Tech campus in Socorro, on Friday evening, April 8, beginning at 6 p.m. The Junior Duck Stamp artwork will be on display at the Macey Center throughout the month of April.
The Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program is an integrated art and science curriculum developed to teach environmental science and habitat conservation. This pairing of subject areas allows students to learn about conserving habitat while they explore the aesthetic qualities of wildlife and nature.
Mr. Urbinas artwork was chosen out of more than 530 creations that were submitted form students across the State. The difficult task of selecting the winning artwork was taken on by volunteer judges: James Wolfe, New Mexico Ducks Unlimited; Scott Brown, New Mexico Game and Fish; Jeff Haskins US Fish & Wildlife Service Office of Migratory Birds; Skeeter Leard, wildlife artist; and, Pat Basham, wildlife artist.
As the best of show winner, Mr. Urbina will receive a $500 scholarship from the Friends of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. First place winners were also chosen in the K-3, 4-6, 7- 9 and 10-12th grades, each of which will receive a $100 savings bond from the Friends. Following the April exhibition the artwork will be displayed at a variety of locations around the State including the Randal Davies Audubon Center in Santa Fe and at State Fairs in Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Roswell. To arrange an exhibit in your area contact Guy Powers at 505-382-5047.
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, 64 fishery resources 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 and Native American tribal 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.
-http://southwest.fws.gov-
