Andre Thibedeau, a 17 year-old Raven Correspondence School student from Fairbanks, Alaska was awarded Best of Show in the 2006 Alaska Federal Junior Duck Stamp Art Competition. Andre's winning piece is an oil painting interpretation of an emperor goose entitled, "The Emperor's Break.?
For the 2006 contest, more than 600 entries were received from 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 categories (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, DC, scheduled for April 20, 2006. 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 Leon Rabinovitch, Anchorage artist; Dr. Garry Davies, University of Alaska, Anchorage, biology professor; Bob Platte, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wildlife biologist; Bob Leedy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Chief, Migratory Bird Management; and Phyllis Fast, University of Alaska, Anchorage, anthropology professor.
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. Andre's conservation message this year, "Conservation is important because if we don't take care of these animals now we may never have a chance in the future," will also compete against messages from the other state winners at the national level.
An awards ceremony for all 100 winners of the 2006 Alaska Federal Junior Duck Stamp Art Competition will be held on Sunday, May 14, 2006, at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage. The public will be able to view each student's winning artwork. This ceremony will also coincide with "Migratory Bird Day at the Zoo," an annual event which features 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 Andre Thibedeau's winning artwork is available. Contact Cathy Pearson at (907) 786-3309 or 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.
- FWS-
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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
