The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced on Jan. 22 that it will hold the 2008 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest on Oct. 17 and Oct. 18 in Bloomington, Minn. The city of Bloomington will host the contest at the Bloomington Center for the Arts, 1800 West Old Shakopee Road.

“Minnesota’s heritage of wildlife conservation, waterfowl hunting and arts appreciation makes it an ideal place to hold the Federal Duck Stamp Contest,” said Robyn Thorson, the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Midwest regional director. “It is only fitting that the Bloomington Center for the Arts will be the venue for this unique competition that blends waterfowl and wildlife with the arts.”

The winning design, which judges choose at the contest, will appear on the 2009-2010 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp. The “Duck Stamp” is the cornerstone of one of the world’s most successful conservation programs.

“We are very pleased to be hosting the 2008 Duck Stamp Contest in Bloomington,” Mayor Gene Winstead said. “It is a great opportunity to showcase the visual arts and wildlife conservation and their contribution to our quality of life.”

The $15 Federal Duck Stamp is a vital tool for wetland conservation, with 98 cents of every dollar generated going to purchase or lease wetland habitat for the National Wildlife Refuge System. Since the stamp’s inception, more than $700 million has been raised to acquire more than 5.2 million acres of habitat and hundreds of refuges across the nation to conserve America’s fish and wildlife resources.

The Federal Duck Stamp Contest is the only federally sponsored art competition. Hundreds of prominent wildlife artists from across the country enter each year. While the winner receives no money from the federal government, the winning artist benefits from the increased visibility and sale of prints and artwork.

The first Federal Duck Stamp was designed in 1934 by Iowa native and editorial cartoonist J.N. “Ding” Darling, who was the director of the Bureau of Biological Survey, forerunner to the Fish and Wildlife Service. It sold for $1. In 2006, more than 1.6 million people purchased a Federal Duck Stamp. Every waterfowl hunter over the age of 16 is required to buy a Federal Duck Stamp. In addition, Federal Duck Stamps are highly sought after by collectors and provide free entry into any national wildlife refuge that charges an entrance fee.

This year, the Fish and Wildlife Service marks the 50th anniversary of the Small Wetlands Program, created to stem the rapid loss of important small wetland and grassland habitat across the Prairie Pothole Region of the upper Midwest.

These prairie wetlands and grassland habitats are known as waterfowl production areas and are purchased using revenues from Federal Duck Stamp sales. In the last half-century, the Small Wetlands Program has developed into one of the most successful landscape-level conservation efforts in the United States, complementing the success of the Duck Stamp

The winner of the 2007 Federal Duck Stamp Contest, Joseph Hautman, hails from Plymouth, Minn. His painting of a pair of northern pintail ducks was chosen from among 247 images by a panel of five judges last October in Sanibel, Fla. Hautman’s stamp, which goes on sale July 1, will be the 75th Federal Duck Stamp.

Minnesota has produced more winning Federal Duck Stamp artists than any other state. Minnesota's hunters, birders, conservationists, art lovers and stamp collectors have purchased more than 9.1 million duck stamps since 1934.

Visit http://www.fws.gov/duckstamps to learn more about the Federal Duck Stamp Program.

For additional information, please contact Rachel F. Levin, USFWS at (612) 713-5311.