Every time you buy a Duck Stamp, 98 cents of every dollar goes directly to the purchase and conservation of wildlife habitat. Artists compete to design the Duck Stamp and each year a winner is chosen to be the face of that year’s stamp.
There is also a Junior Duck Stamp that helps conservation in a different way – through education. The proceeds from this 5 dollar stamp fund environmental education programs, award students for their work, and market the Junior Duck Stamp Program.
The Junior Duck Stamp contest allows interested students, from kindergarten through twelfth grade, to study waterfowl and then draw, paint, or sketch a photo to submit. Both national and state winners are chosen and all participants are recognized. The program started in 1986, and included all 50 states by the year 2000.
National Prizes:
- National First Place: $5,000
- National Second Place: $3,000
- National Third Place: $2,000
- Conservation Message First Place: $500
State recognition varies. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a map which links to each state’s 2006 Best in Show winner. We picked our state to show as an example below:
2006 Illinois Best of Show
Clinton Shipley, 18
St. Joseph-Ogden High School
“Populations of many species of ducks are on the rise due to increased wetlands protection.”
–Clinton Shipley
Getting kids involved helps the conservation movement immensely. It teaches them about conservation and gives them the motivation to want to be involved in helping wildlife. Buying Duck Stamps and Junior Duck Stamps is a great way to help conserve precious bird habitat.
More Information
Thanks for helping to bring this important but all too often overlooked portion of the annual Duck Stamp program to the attention of more people.