DNREC announces annual Duck, Trout Stamps contests set for April 2
Delaware’s Junior Duck Stamp winners also to be unveiled at Greenwings event

GREENWOOD (March 15, 2011) – Wildlife art enthusiasts, stamp and print collectors, waterfowl hunters, birdwatchers and wetland conservationists will gather beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 2 at the Delaware Ducks Unlimited Greenwings’ Event at Owens Station in Greenwood for the judging of Delaware’s annual Duck Stamp and Trout Stamp contests.  

Sponsored by the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife in partnership with Delaware Ducks Unlimited, the annual competitions draw entries by renowned and emerging artists from across the country. A panel of judges consisting of an artist, a waterfowl collector, an art teacher/professor, a biologist and the chair of Delaware Ducks Unlimited will select Best of Show winners for the 2012 Delaware Duck Stamp and the 2012 Delaware Trout Stamp. Judges will base their decisions on originality, artistic composition, anatomical accuracy and suitability for reproduction as a stamp and print.  

Delaware’s 2012 waterfowl stamp will mark the 32^nd anniversary of the contest, which began 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 artwork chosen for the 2012 stamp will be fourth in a new series which must include one or more Delaware native species as the dominant feature, and may include any other objects including man-made objects. 

Artists from across the nation will submit paintings of rainbow, brown or brook trout for the competition to choose the illustration for the 2012 Delaware Trout Stamp, which must be displayed by all trout anglers. Some 6,500 trout anglers and stamp collectors support this program annually, generating approximately $25,000 in annual revenues to stock trout in six northern New Castle County streams, Tidbury Pond in Kent County and Newton Pond in Sussex County.

The 2011 Junior Duck Stamp winners also will be unveiled at the event. The competition provides an opportunity for students throughout Delaware to participate in a national art competition keyed to native waterfowl and wetland values. Students learn hands-on activities in waterfowl, wetland and habitat education and conservation while completing duck stamp art entries. Artwork is judged in K-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12 grade categories, with various prizes. The Best of Show will move on to the National Federal Junior Duck Stamp Competition.

For more information on the Delaware Duck Stamp, Trout Stamp or Junior Duck Stamp programs, please contact the Division of Fish and Wildlife at 302-739-9911, or visit www.fw.delaware.gov.

Vol. 41, No. 92