Students compete to design the next junior duck stamp

October is a big month for Vermont’s waterfowl. Not only is it the start of duck hunting season, but the month also marks the beginning of a national student art competition and associated school curriculum about water birds and their environment.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the launch of its annual Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest in a press release last week. The free contest invites students from pre-K through 12th grade to create a work of art that showcases one of North America’s ducks, swans, geese or other water birds in its natural habitat.

Entries are judged in four age categories by state, with a “Vermont Best of Show” entry that will compete with other state winners at a national competition. The national winner will receive $1,000 and their artwork will be displayed on the federal junior duck stamp, the proceeds of which are used to support conservation education.

This past year, a painting of a red-breasted merganser by Ezra Goss of Barnet won the state competition. No Vermont artwork has ever won the national competition, which has been held since 1993.

While federal duck stamps (which are a type of permit and not used as postage) are required for migratory bird hunters along with their state licenses and other permits, junior duck stamps are not a mandatory purchase. They are voluntarily purchased by birders, collectors and outdoor enthusiasts. All of the funds raised by the stamp’s sale are used to continue the wetland conservation education program that accompanies the art contest.

According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, over $1.4 million has been raised by the sale of the junior duck stamps since their creation, and around 30,000 students throughout the country participate in the competition every year.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Students compete to design the next junior duck stamp .