Federal Duck Stamp Story

8/11/2019 Federal Duck Stamp Story

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U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

The Federal DuckStamp Story Including the Junior

Duck Stamp Story





wetlands help to maintain ground water supplies, act as a filtrationsystem for pollutants, store flood

waters, protect shorelines fromerosion, and modify climatic changes.

In 1934, with the passage of theMigratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act(Act), an increasingly concernedNation took firm action to stop thedestruction of migratory waterfowl

and the wetlands so vital to theirsurvival. Under this Act, all waterfowlhunters 16 years of age and overmust annually purchase and carry aFederal Duck Stamp. The very firstFederal Duck Stamp was designed byJ.N. “Ding” Darling, a politicalcartoonist from Des Moines, Iowa,

who at that time was appointed byFranklin Roosevelt as Director of theBureau of Biological Survey, thepredecessor to the U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service. Hunters willingly

pay the stamp price to insure thesurvival of our natural resources.

Approximately 98 cents of every duckstamp dollar goes directly into theMigratory Bird Conservation Fundto purchase wetlands and wildlifehabitat for inclusion into the National

Wildlife Refuge System—a fact thatensures this land will be protectedand available for all generations to

R . L . D

r e i s l i e n , U S F W S

“We have notinherited theland from our

forefathers, wehave borrowedit from our children.”

– Kashmiri Proverb



come. Since 1934, better than half abillion dollars has gone into thatFund to purchase more than 5 millionacres of habitat. Little wonder theFederal Duck Stamp Program hasbeen called one of the most successfulconservation programs ever initiated.

In coming years, with the number of hunters dwindling, three groups of

Americans will need to assume an

increasing role in filling the gap in thepurchase of Federal Duck Stamps—collectors, art enthusiasts and otherconservationists.

Collectors and art enthusiastsconsider these stamps “miniaturepieces of art” and have been greatsupporters of the program. It isthe third group, the otherconservationists, which includes thebird watching community, that wehope will take a more active role in

purchasing duck stamps. Increasingly,birders are using the National Wildlife Refuges to pursue theirhobby and grow their list of “lifebirds” (numbers of species seen).

The collection of duck stamps is agrowing and constantly evolvingphenomenon. A collector who hadpurchased each of the current stamps,at issue price, would have spentaround $400. This investment today

would be worth well over $5,000.

Other conservationists buy thestamps as a way of ensuring thatthese wild places will be around for allgenerations. And, possession of themost recent Federal Duck Stampprovides free admission into allNational Wildlife Refuges.

The purchase of a Federal DuckStamp provides an opportunity forevery United States citizen to take astand in the preservation of ournatural heritage. All of us, working

together, can and have made adifference.

U S F W S



Each year the U.S. Fish and WildlifeService sponsors the only Federally-

mandated art competition. Wildlifeartists, both professional and amateur,all across the United States vie for thecoveted title of Federal Duck Stamp Artist. The wildlife artist who wins thiscompetition knows that his or hercareer and fortunes will take wing!This winning design graces the nextannual Federal Duck Stamp. The Top20 scored entries from each competitionare enthusiastically exhibited aroundthe country at various museums,festivals and expositions during the next

year. Please visit the duck stamp websiteat duckstamps.fws.gov to download thecurrent year’s Information, Entry

Form and Regulations.

In 1984 Congress granted anamendment to the 1934 Actauthorizing the Secretary of theInterior to license reproductions of the Federal Duck Stamp on productsmanufactured and sold by privatesector enterprises. Royalties from thesale of these products are also

deposited into the Migratory BirdConservation Fund for wetlandsacquisition. For a list of Federal DuckStamp product licensees, visit our

website at duckstamps.fws.gov.

D o d g e

C o l o r , I n c . f o r U S F W S

U S F W S



The Federal Junior Duck StampConservation and Design Program,begun in 1989 with a grant fromthe National Fish and WildlifeFoundation, encourages conservationthrough the arts. Its goal is to teachthe importance of conserving ourNation’s wetlands and to expandknowledge of the Federal Duck Stampas a conservationprogram. Congress

passed The Federal Junior Duck StampConservation and

Design Act of 1994to authorize the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service to userevenues from the sale of Junior DuckStamps to promote conservationeducation in the form of awards andscholarships to the students, teachersand schools that participate in theprogram. This Act further allows for

corporate and individual contributionsto the awards and scholarshipprogram, and it encouragespartnerships with state agencies,conservation groups, and localcommunities.



Students in kindergarten throughhigh school are involved in thisinnovative, curriculum basedprogram. Through an annual artcompetition in each state, the childrenproduce a “visual term paper” to giverecognition to what they have learnedabout waterfowl and wetlands. Everystate, the District of Columbia andnow the U.S. Territories conductsfour age-related competitions each

year (K-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12) to select theBest of Show for the state. The Bestof Show winning design from eachstate is entered into an annualNational competition. The Best of Show selected at the Nationalcompetition becomes the image forthe next year’s Junior Duck Stamp.

Following the National Junior DuckStamp competition, the Best of Show designs from each participating stateare exhibited nationwide to encourage

young artists to learn about wildlifeand to help raise the visibility of waterfowl conservation.

Please visit the Duck Stamp websiteat duckstamps.fws.gov to downloadthe current year’s competition formand the teachers curriculum guide.



U.S. Fish & Wildlife ServiceFederal Duck Stamp Office4401 N. Fairfax DriveMS 4501-4070Arlington, VA 22203-1622

703/358 2000Fax: 703/358 2009http://duckstamps.fws.gov

July 2002

Buy DuckStamps

How to Purchase Your Federal andJunior Duck Stamps

U.S. Postal ServiceStamp Fulfillment Unit

P.O. Box 7247Philadelphia, PA 19101-70971 800/STAMP24http://www.usps.com

or

AMPLEX Corporation1100 Fountain ParkwayGrand Prairie, TX 75050-15131 800/852 4897

or

http://www.duckstamp.com

Documents

Federal Duck Stamp Story