Saginaw Township View

Michigan Junior Duck Stamp contest accepting entries


SAGINAW – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has started accepting traditional and non-traditional entries for the 2020 Michigan Junior Duck Stamp (JDS) contest, which is administered by the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge. Entries must be postmarked by March 15, 2020.

Previous Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke in a press release said, “We have to get more kids outside and away from all the screens. Programs like the Junior Duck Stamp contest are great ways to help inspire the next generation of Teddy Roosevelt conservationists and outdoorsmen and women.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has held a Junior Duck Stamp contest in Michigan since 1995. In 2019, Mandy He, 16, of Ann Arbor, won the Michigan contest with two mallard hens drawn using acrylic.

“The art component of this program allows us to see wildlife through the lenses of our youngest conservation leaders” said Lionel D. Grant, Junior Duck Stamp state coordinator.

Michigan Junior Duck Stamp artwork will be featured onsite and throughout the state this year.

This dynamic educational program uses principles in both conservation and design to teach wetland habitat and waterfowl biology to students in kindergarten through high school. The program provides an opportunity for students to artistically showcase their knowledge of the diversity, interrelationships and beauty of wildlife.

For the 2020 program organizers are expanding entries to include non-traditional entries. They are accepting all styles and types of two-dimensional visual art entries into the Junior Duck Stamp Contest.

Students may submit artwork featuring one of the following species: whistling ducks, swans, geese, brant, dabbling ducks, diving ducks, sea ducks, mergansers, stiff tails, or Hawaiian ducks. A full list of permitted species is available online at www.fws.gov/juniorduck. Judging will be open to the general public at Green Point Environmental Learning Center in Saginaw. Artwork entries will be judged on the basis of original design, anatomical accuracy, artistic composition and suitability for reproduction on a 1” by 1.5” stamp.

During the contest, students will be judged in four groups according to grade level: K-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12. Three first, three second and three third place entries, along with 16 honorable mentions will be selected from each group. Contest judges select a “Best of Show” from the twelve first place winners, which will be submitted to the Federal Duck Stamp Office and entered into the National Junior Duck Stamp Contest held April 17 in Westboro, Mass. The winner of the National Junior Duck Stamp Contest, along with his/her parent or guardian and teacher will receive a free trip to a First Day of Sale ceremony in late June/early July.

A downloadable entry form and information on contest rules and regulations for teachers and supervising adults can be found online at http:// www.fws.gov/juniorduck. For additional information, contact Grant at (989) 759- 1669, or Lionel_ Grant@fws.gov. Entries and reference forms should be postmarked by March 15 and mailed to: c/o Junior Duck Stamp Coordinator, Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, 6975 Mower Road, Saginaw, MI 48601.