#05-246 November 14, 2005

26th Annual S.C. Duck Stamp Will Feature Ohio Artist

South Carolina's 26th annual duck stamp next season will feature wildlife artist Richard D. Benson of Washington Courthouse, Ohio.

Benson's painting of black ducks flying over a freshwater marsh was judged the winner of South Carolina's 26th annual State Duck Stamp Contest on Nov. 3 in Columbia by members of the S.C. Migratory Waterfowl Committee. The stamp competition is a program of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The winning artwork will be featured on the 2006-2007 S.C. Migratory Waterfowl and Hunting Stamp next season.

Benson's painting, along with the top four entries from the stamp contest, will be displayed Feb. 17-19, 2006, during the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston, in the Galliard Auditorium.

Benson is a retired mechanical engineer and said he painted the black ducks in a scene that he had found in a DNR publication. "Winning here is a real achievement, because the level of artistry in South Carolina is easily some of the best I've seen around the country," Benson said. He came fairly late to painting, only picking it up seven years ago after a medical condition forced him to stop carving decoys.

Other top winners in the 2006-2007 South Carolina duck stamp competition are: second place Ron Kleiber of Erin, N.Y.; third place Joanna E. Rivera of Richland N.J.; fourth place William Broderick Crawford of Clayton, Ga.; and fifth place Wayne C. Atkinson of Irving, Texas. Honorable mentions include: James Hublick from Arkansas; Tim Donovan of Lovettsville, Va.; Lance N. Anderson of Greenwood; Jeffrey Klinefelter of Etna Green, Ind.; Len Rusin of North Tonawanda, N.Y.; and Dianna P. Pelfrey of Laurens.

Next year's duck stamp art contest (2007-2008) will feature the redhead duck.

South Carolina duck hunters age 16 and older are required to have the state waterfowl stamp in their possession while hunting. Duck hunters purchase about 24,000 stamps each year, and collectors buy another 5,000 stamps.

Currently on sale is the 2005-2006 South Carolina duck stamp by Rodney Huckaby featuring a pair of canvasback ducks flying over the ocean with a shrimp boat pulling its trawl nets in the background. The South Carolina Migratory Waterfowl Stamp and Print Program-now in its 26th year-has raised more than $6 million since it began in 1981 to benefit the waterfowl of South Carolina and the Atlantic Flyway, according to Sandra Hartley, state waterfowl stamp contest coordinator and license administrator for the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in Columbia. Funds generated from the sale of "stamps" are used solely to fund state waterfowl habitat projects. "Print" sales support waterfowl breeding and nesting habitat projects in Canada.

Winning artists receive no money from the sale of the annual South Carolina migratory waterfowl stamp, which costs hunters and collectors $5.50 each, but they do earn $8 from each regular edition $135 art print sold from a maximum edition of 4,000 prints. Past year's waterfowl stamp prints may be viewed on the DNR Web site at http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/stamps/index.html.

Benson's stamp for the 2006-2007 season will go on sale July 1, 2006, before next waterfowl hunting season, at DNR offices and South Carolina retail businesses that sell hunting and fishing licenses. Stamp collectors may purchase stamps in singles, numbered corner blocks of four and full sheets of 30 stamps by writing DNR Duck Stamps, PO Box 11710, Columbia, SC 29211. Collectors who bought numbered corner blocks and full sheets last year are entitled to purchase the same number this year.

The 4,000 signed and numbered prints of Benson's design will go on sale mid-July 2006 for $135 each. Orders for state migratory waterfowl stamp art prints may be placed through local art galleries or by calling Arcadia Sales toll-free at (866) 271-3001 or visiting Arcadia Sales Web site http://arcadiapubs.com/arcadiapubs/.

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