Kerissa Nelson, 17, of Grantsburg, Wis., will be honored this Thursday, June 30, at a Capitol Hill ceremony celebrating the winners of the Federal Duck Stamp Contest and Junior Duck Stamp Contest.
Nelson’s acrylic painting “Ringneck Rendezvous” was judged top among entries from all 50 states and three territories at the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest, held in April. The 2005-2006 Federal Junior Duck Stamp, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service makes available for $5, will be released to the public on June 30. Proceeds from Junior Duck Stamp sales are used to support environmental education efforts and awards for contest winners.
Nelson, her parents and her art teacher will travel to Washington D.C., for the First Day of Sale event. Other participants at the event will be Interior Secretary Gale Norton; U.S. Representatives Ron Kind and David Obey of Wisconsin; acting U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Matt Hogan; and Congressional members of the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission.
The Junior Duck Stamp Design Contest is the culmination of the Junior Duck Stamp curriculum. After studying waterfowl anatomy and habitat students may articulate their newfound knowledge by drawing, painting or sketching a picture of any North American waterfowl species.
Students from around the United States submit drawings to their state, territory or district competition. Winners from these competitions, called the "Best of Show," are then submitted to the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Design Contest. One image from the 53 Best of Show entries will become the next Junior Duck Stamp.
The June 30 ceremony will also honor Federal Duck Stamp artist Mark Anderson of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, whose painting of hooded mergansers bested 222 other paintings to win the Federal Duck Stamp contest, held last October in Washington, D.C.
Federal Duck Stamps are sold for $15 at post offices, sporting goods stores and national wildlife refuges nationwide. Ninety-eight cents of every Duck Stamp dollar goes directly to purchase wetland habitat for national wildlife refuges. Since 1934, Federal Duck Stamp sales have generated more than $700 million that have helped purchase more than 5.2 million acres of wetlands for the National Wildlife Refuge System. The Duck Stamp is a required yearly purchase for waterfowl hunters, and it has also developed an enthusiastic following by conservationists and stamp collectors. The Duck Stamp also serves as a pass to national wildlife refuges that normally charge an entrance fee.
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 545 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.
