Best of Show Winner, Brianna Dostie of Greene, Maine.

A watercolor painting by 16 year-old Brianna Dostie of Greene won Best of Show in the Maine competition of the 2007 - 2008 Federal Junior Duck Stamp Design Contest.  The Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in Wells coordinated the judging that was held on March 25th at the River Tree Center for the Arts in Kennebunk, Maine.         

            Dostie, a student at Leavitt Area High School, entered a watercolor painting of a pair of Hooded Mergansers.  Her entry was chosen from over 700 received from schools throughout Maine.  The Best of Show was sent on to Washington D.C. to compete with Best of Show winners from other states in the national contest in June.  Her artwork will also be included in an exhibit that will tour the United States in the coming year.  In addition to her first place and Best of Show ribbons, Dostie will receive prizes donated by Ducks Unlimited, L.L. Bean, the Wendell Gilley Museum in Southwest Harbor, and the Rachel Carson NWR.

            The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service organizes the contest each year.  It is part of a program that teaches students in grades K-12 about wetlands and waterfowl conservation.  Modeled after the Federal Duck Stamp contest for adult artists, students create original artwork depicting North American ducks, geese or swans in their natural habitats.  First, second, third and honorable mention awards are given out in four age categories.

            Judges for this year's contest were: Molly Jacobs, recent science policy fellow of the Sea Grant College Program; Dick Dyer, retired USFWS employee; Jeanne Meggison, retired science educator; Owen Grumbling, environmental professor at the University of New England; and Geraldine Aikman, artist and art educator.