2006 Federal Junior Duck Stamp competition

Young artists with an interest in waterfowl can enter their artwork in the 2006 Federal Junior Duck Stamp competition with the chance that their art could be selected for the national 2006 Federal Duck Stamp.

Locally, the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor is the official receiving site for entries from all of New Jersey. The contest is open to any private or public school student, homeschooled or privately taught art student. Deadline is March 15. Detailed information on rules, format and entry procedures is available on the website fws.gov/duckstamps. Information is also at the Wetlands Institute by emailing coc@wetlandsinstitute.org or calling (609) 368-1211.

Entries are divided into four age group categories, with 12 winners in each category (3 firsts, 3 seconds and 3 third place winners) plus an additional 64 honorable mentions. A Best of Show will be selected from the hundreds of entries and will represent that state at the national level of competition in Washington D.C. in early April. The National Best of Show winner will have his/her art used on the 2006 Junior Duck Stamp.

All students entering the New Jersey competition receive a Certificate of Participation. Winning students and their families will be invited to an awards luncheon in June at the Wetlands Institute where the winning entries will be on exhibit before being displayed at various locations around New Jersey during the coming year.

The Junior Duck Stamp Program was developed to teach students more about environmental science and habitat conservation and help students explore the esthetic qualities of wildlife and nature. Participants select a species of North American waterfowl, do research on the species and the habitat and then depict the waterfowl in an artistic medium.

All New Jersey entries must be mailed to the Wetlands Institute, 1075 Stone Harbor Blvd., Stone Harbor, NJ 08247 and postmarked by midnight of the March 15 deadline.

Judging of entries from New Jersey is March 27 at the Wetlands Institute. The panel of judges includes ornithologists, carvers, philatelists and conservationists.

"The Junior Duck Stamp program helps introduce school age children to an important part of the natural world. It instills a sense of individual responsibility for the maintenance of our environment while benefiting waterfowl, migratory birds, plants and other animals that share wetland habitats," explained Cindy O'Connor, executive director of the Wetlands Institute.

Sales proceeds from Junior Duck Stamps and the Duck Stamps at the National Wildlife Refuges are used to purchase wetland property for conservation. Both stamps can be purchased at the Wetlands Institute.

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Author: Press Release-Wetlands Institute