Junior Duck Stamp Conservation Program
conservation through the arts
Support Conservation Education with Your Purchase
2020-2021 Junior Duck Stamp featuring a harlequin duck by Madison Grimm of South Dakota.
A high-resolution version of this image is available for certain uses. News media should contact Valerie Fellows at valerie_fellows@fws.gov or 703/358-2285. Others interested in obtaining a license to use the image should contact Suzanne Fellows at suzanne_fellows@fws.gov or 703/358-2145.
2020 Contest Wrap-Up:
Learn more
National Placement (136.6KB)
News release
Image Gallery
The Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program is a dynamic art- and science-based curriculum that teaches wetland and waterfowl conservation to students in kindergarten through high school. The program encourages students to explore their natural world, invites them to investigate biology and wildlife management principles and challenges them to express and share what they have learned with others.
Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program Fact Sheet (337.2KB)
Spanish Fact Sheet (676.8KB)
The winning artwork from a national art contest serves as the design for the Junior Duck Stamp, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service produces annually. This $5 stamp has become a much sought after collector's item. One hundred percent of the revenue from the sale of Junior Duck stamps goes to support recognition and environmental education activities for students who participate in the program.
The program began in 1989 as an extension of the Migratory Bird Conservation and Hunting Stamp, commonly known as the Federal Duck Stamp. The national Junior Duck Stamp art contest started in 1993 and the first stamp design was selected from the eight participating states. The program was recognized by Congress with the 1994 enactment of the Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program Act.
By 2000, the program included all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories. The program encourages partnerships among federal and state government agencies, nongovernment organizations, businesses, and volunteers to help recognize and honor thousands of teachers and students throughout the United States for their participation in conservation-related activities.
A four-part curriculum guide with activities and resources can be used as a year-round study plan to assist students in exploring science in real-life situations. Using scientific and wildlife observation principles, students are encouraged 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.
Approximately 20,000 students entered state art contests in 2019. By displaying student artwork and delivering waterfowl and wetland related outdoor activities, state coordinators share student accomplishments with over 300,000 students, families and communities annually. Several students who have participated in the program have gone on to become full-time wildlife artists and conservation professionals; many attribute their interest and success to their early exposure to the Junior Duck Stamp Program.
Be a "friend" of the junior duck stamp
The Friends of the Migratory Bird/Duck Stamp is a nonprofit organization that supports promotion, preservation, sales, and better understanding of the Federal Duck Stamp's conservation mission. The Friends also support the conservation education mission of the Junior Duck Stamp Program.
For more information about the Junior Duck Stamp Program, contact Suzanne Fellows at suzanne_fellows@fws.gov, or your state's Junior Duck Stamp coordinator (147.2KB).