BRIGHAM CITY, Utah — Months of classroom visits, community outreach and new partnerships led by interns at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge helped drive a sharp increase in participation in Utah’s Junior Duck Stamp contest in 2026.
A total of 524 Utah students in kindergarten through 12th grade submitted artwork for the 2026 state contest, up from 78 students the previous year. The increase followed an outreach effort that took refuge interns into schools and partner organizations across Utah, connecting students and educators with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Junior Duck Stamp Program.
Among those interns was Gabrielle Johnson, a visitor services specialist intern at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, whose work took her from Brigham City in northern Utah to St. George in southern Utah.
Beginning in September 2025, Johnson and other refuge interns reached out to educators across the state to promote the Junior Duck Stamp Program and provide resources for participation. Interest from teachers led to visits at schools, where interns introduced students to the program and provided art supplies to help them participate in the state contest.
The effort soon expanded beyond classrooms.
Nature centers and universities expressed interest in working with the refuge, creating new opportunities to bring the program to broader audiences. Between September 2025 and March 2026, interns attended outreach events at partner sites and developed relationships with organizations around the state.
Those partnerships also created opportunities to showcase student artwork. Refuge interns worked with Utah State University and Southern Utah University to display artwork from Junior Duck Stamp contest winners, giving visitors another way to learn about the program and the students who participate in it.
The months of outreach culminated in Utah’s Junior Duck Stamp contest judging in March, when the increase in student participation offered a measurable sign of the program’s growing reach.
Johnson’s work continued beyond the contest.
In June, she appeared on Utah Public Radio’s “Wild About Utah” weekly segment to discuss the Junior Duck Stamp Program and ways students and educators could participate. The appearance provided another platform to share a program that refuge interns had spent months promoting in communities throughout the state.
The work at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge also reflects the broader role interns play throughout the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Service works with conservation hiring partners, including American Conservation Experience, Environment for the Americas, Conservation Legacy and the Student Conservation Association, to provide internship opportunities across the country. Those positions give participants experience working on conservation projects while developing professional skills and building connections that can help prepare them for careers in conservation.
At Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, interns contribute to projects ranging from environmental education and community partnerships to outdoor recreation opportunities and habitat management planning for critical wetland areas. Their work supports refuge priorities while helping staff connect with the communities they serve.
For Johnson and her fellow interns, the Junior Duck Stamp effort demonstrated what those contributions can look like on the ground: students reached, partnerships formed and hundreds more young artists participating in a conservation education program.
It also illustrates how interns can contribute to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s broader priorities, including delivering public service, strengthening national wildlife refuges and striving for excellence.
