Rapids Lake Education and Visitor Center 2008 Federal Duck Stamp Contest Phone: 952-854-5900 |
 Grab Your Crayons and Take Wing
Nick Buchal, age 14, from Mahtomedi took Minnesota Best-of-Show honors with an oil painting of a Wood Duck at this year's Minnesota Junior Duck Stamp Competition on March 25th, at the Burnsville City Hall. Nick's painting was selected from a field of over 1,100 entries, of talented students throughout the state. The five judges who assembled for the difficult task of selecting this year's winners were Craig Mandel, Minnesota River Valley Audubon Chapter; Dan Sobieck, Partners for Fish & Wildlife, US Fish & Wildlife Service; Don Soderlund Jr., Wood Decoy Carver; Steven Sutter, President, Refuge Friends, Inc.; and Mark Thone, Wildlife Artist.
The top 36 winners' artwork is a part of a traveling exhibit, which will be on display throughout Minnesota from May 2008 through February 2009. Please watch your local paper for the exhibit landing in your area. The Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program is a dynamic, art and science program designed to teach wetlands habitat and waterfowl conservation to students in kindergarten through high school. The program guides students, using scientific and wildlife observation principles, to communicate visually what they have learned through an entry into the Junior Duck Stamp art contest. This non-traditional pairing of subjects brings new interest to both the sciences and the arts. It crosses cultural, ethnic, social, and geographic boundaries to teach greater awareness of our nation's natural resources. This year, over 30,000 Junior Duck Stamp design entries were entered to be judged during State competitions held from February through March. The judges are people active in the local wildlife art or the conservation community. The State "Best of Show" winning designs are then sent to Washington, D.C., where the top three entries are chosen by a panel of five judges. The piece selected as the National Winner serves as the design for the Federal Junior Duck Stamp. The first-place winner receives a $5,000 award, the second place winner receives $3,000 and the third-place winner receives $2,000. The Junior Duck Stamp winner also receives a free trip to the Federal Duck Stamp Competition, along with a parent, and the State Junior Duck Coordinator, to be honored during the event. The Federal Junior Duck Stamp sells for $5.00 and is considered a collectable. All proceeds from the sale of the stamps are used to support the program. For more information and a complete list of images and contest results, please see the Junior Duck Stamp's web site at www.fws.gov/duckstamps/junior. In Minnesota, the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Program, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is supported by US Post Service, Wildlife Forever, Bird Conservation Minnesota, Duke & Duke Photography, Richfield Optimist Club, and individual contributions. For more information please contact the Minnesota State Coordinator, Mara Koenig at Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, 3815 American Blvd E, Bloomington, MN 55425 (V/TTY) 952-854-5900.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
