NEWS FROM THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL

April 21, 2009
Vol. 39, No. 173

For more information, contact Amanda Belford or Carla Cassell-Carter, Division of Fish and Wildlife, 302-739-9911, or Joanna Wilson, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902. PHOTOS AVAILABLE. Please contact Public Affairs.

Delaware's 2010 Duck Stamp and
Trout Stamp Winners Are Chosen

Artists from Pennsylvania, South Carolina Take Top Spots

Pennsylvania artist Steve Oliver’s painting featuring a canvasback duck will become the 2010 Delaware Duck Stamp. A painting of brook trout by Donnie Hughes of Lexington, S.C., will appear on the 2010 Delaware Trout Stamp.

The paintings won top honors in the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife’s annual stamp art competition, held Saturday, April 18 at the Ducks Unlimited Greenwings Event in Greenwood. This year’s event drew 47 entries for the 2010 Duck Stamp and 20 entries for the 2010 Trout Stamp. The 2010 Trout Stamp winner, Donnie Hughes, receives $250 and retains the rights to reproduce and sell prints of the stamp.

The 2010 Duck Stamp winner, Steve Oliver, who resides in Brookhaven, Pa., will receive a $2,500 prize and 150 artist's proofs of the limited edition print series of his first place duck entry. A full-time artist for nine years, Oliver has placed in a number of wildlife stamp contests and wildlife art competitions in other states, including a third place on North Carolina’s 2008 Duck Stamp Competition and first place in Maryland’s 2007-2008 Black Bear Stamp contest.

Other winners included:

• 2010 Duck Stamp: Second place – Ron Kleiber of Erin, N.Y., hooded merganser; Third place – George Lockwood of Santa Ynez, Calif., mallard; Honorable mention: Wally Makuchal Jr. of Girdletree, Md., hooded merganser; Donnie Hughes of Lexington, S.C., shoveler; and Jeffery Klinefelter of Etna Green, Ind., hooded merganser.

• 2010 Trout Stamp: Second place – Eric Jablonowski, of Washington, Pa., brown trout; Third place – David Weaver of Gettysburg, Pa., brook trout; Honorable mention: Douglas Walpus of Hartsville, Tenn., brown trout; Larry Smail of Kittanning, Pa., brown trout; and Bart Gelesh of Oxford, Pa., brown trout.

The Duck and Trout Stamp entries are on display now through Saturday, April 25 at the Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village, 866 N. DuPont Highway, Dover, just south of Delaware State University. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information about the museum, please call 302-734-1618.

The 2010 Duck Stamp judges were Ducks Unlimited Chairman Scott Crawford, artist and past Duck Stamp winner Richard Clifton of Milford, collector Charles Sheppard, teacher Don Parks and biologist Charlii Miller.

The 2010 Trout Stamp judges were Delaware Trout Association member Noel Kuhrt, artist Richard Clifton, Delaware Trout Association and Trout Unlimited member Ed O’Donnell, Fisheries biologist Charlii Miller and Trout Unlimited member Bill O’Connor.

The Division of Fish and Wildlife, in partnership with Ducks Unlimited, began the duck stamp and print program in 1980 to raise funds for waterfowl conservation, including acquiring and improving the wetland habitats that are vital for the survival of migratory waterfowl. To date, more than $2.5 million has been raised.

The Division began requiring trout stamps in the 1950s. Trout stamp art was first used in 1977. The fees paid for Trout Stamps are used to purchase rainbow and brown trout from commercial hatcheries. The purchased trout are stocked in two downstate ponds and selected streams in northern New Castle County for Delaware’s spring trout season.

Residents 16 to 64 years of age are required to have a Delaware Trout Stamp, which costs $4.20. Residents ages 12 through 15 years old are required to have a Young Angler Trout Stamp, which costs $2.10. Non-residents 12 years of age and older are required to have a Non-Resident Trout Stamp, which costs $6.20.

Duck Stamps go on sale July 1 for $9 and are required when hunting migratory waterfowl in Delaware.

Duck and Trout Stamps are available at the Division of Fish and Wildlife offices in the Richardson and Robbins Building at 89 Kings Highway in Dover, at license agents throughout the state or online at www.fw.delaware.gov, which also includes a list of license agents. Collector stamps and prints are sold only at the Division’s administrative offices.

For more information, call the Division of Fish and Wildlife at 739-9911.