Contacts
Kim King-Wrenn, 505-864-4021, Kimberly_King-Wrenn@fws.gov
Elizabeth Slown, 505-248-6909 or 363-9592 (cell) elizabeth_slown@fws.gov
Student Art Contest Deadline Approaching
Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge wants to remind student artists throughout New Mexico that the deadline for entering the 2005 Junior Duck Stamp Competition is fast approaching. Contest entries must be postmarked by midnight, March 15t, 2005. All 2005 contest entries must be mailed to the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, P.O. Box 1248, Socorro, New Mexico 87801.
The Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program is a dynamic arts curriculum designed to teach wetlands and waterfowl conservation to students in kindergarten through high school. This program incorporates scientific and wildlife management principles into a visual arts curriculum.
This non-traditional pairing of subjects brings new interest to both science and the arts. It crosses cultural, ethnic, social, and geographic boundaries to teach greater awareness of our Nation's natural resources. This benefits not only ducks, but all migratory birds, including neotropical migratory songbirds, and hundreds of other plants and animals that depend on wetlands habitat for their survival.
Students enter their designs in the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest at the state level for a chance to win a number of prizes in four different age categories; K-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12. New Mexico winners in these categories will receive a $100 savings bond and have their art work exhibited throughout the State in the coming year. A Best of Show winner will also be selected and receive a $500 scholarship. All State Best of Show designs are then sent to the national contest.
The first place national winning design is used to create a Federal Junior Duck Stamp each year. The first place national winner will receive a $5000 cash award and a free trip to Washington DC to attend the First Day of Sales Ceremony. Proceeds from the sale of Junior Duck Stamps (which cost $5) support conservation education by providing awards and scholarships for the students, teachers, and schools that participate in the program. State agencies that sell Junior Duck Stamps may use their share of the proceeds for designated conservation purposes.
For entry forms and more information about the Junior Duck Stamp Contest visit http://duckstamps.fws.gov/junior/junior.htm
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
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