2009 Delaware Duck Stamp, Trout Stamp Winners Chosen

            Milford artist Richard Clifton’s painting featuring a black duck will become the 2009 Delaware Duck Stamp, marking Clifton’s fifth win in the annual competition since 1992. A painting of rainbow trout by Jeffrey Klinefelter of Etna Green, Ind., will appear on the 2009 Delaware Trout Stamp.

            The paintings won top honors in the DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife’s annual stamp art competition, held Saturday, April 12 at the Ducks Unlimited Greenwings Event in Greenwood. This year’s event drew 31 entries for the 2009 Duck Stamp and 22 entries for the 2009 Trout Stamp. The 2009 Trout Stamp winner, Jeffrey Klinefelter, receives $250 and retains the rights to reproduce and sell prints of the stamp.

            The 2009 Duck Stamp winner, Richard Clifton, will receive a $2,500 prize and 150 artist's proofs of the limited edition print series of his first place duck entry. A Milford native and self-taught artist who specializes in wildlife, Clifton has won a total of 26 state competitions, plus the 2007-2008 federal Duck Stamp competition.

            Other winners included:

The Duck and Trout Stamp entries are on display now through Friday, April 18 at the Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village, 866 N. DuPont Highway, Dover, just south of Delaware State University. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 4 pm. Sunday. For more information about the museum, please call 302-734-1618.

            The 2009 Duck Stamp judges were Ducks Unlimited Chairman Howard Wilkins, artist John Stewart, collector Lloyd Alexander, art teacher/artist Doug Gibson, Arthur Straughn, Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge staff member, and alternate Susan Guiteras, wildlife biologist).

           The 2009 Trout Stamp judges were Delaware Trout Association member Noel Kuhrt, artist Doug Gibson, Delaware Trout Association and Trout Unlimited member Ed O’Donnell, Fisheries biologist Bill Jones and Trout Unlimited member Bill Mentzer.  

The Division of Fish and Wildlife, in partnership with Ducks Unlimited, began the duck stamp and print program 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 $2.3 million has been raised.

            The Division began requiring trout stamps in the 1930s. Trout stamp art was first used in 1977. The fees paid for Trout Stamps are used to purchase rainbow and brown trout from commercial hatcheries. The purchased trout are stocked in selected streams in northern New Castle County for Delaware’s spring trout season.

Residents 16 to 64 years of age are required to have a Delaware Trout Stamp, which costs $4.20. Residents ages 12 through 15 years old are required to have a Young Angler Trout Stamp, which costs $2.10. Non-residents 12 years of age and older are required to have a Non-Resident Trout Stamp, which costs $6.20.

Duck Stamps go on sale in July for $9 and are required when hunting migratory waterfowl in Delaware.

Duck and Trout Stamps are available at the Division of Fish and Wildlife offices in the Richardson and Robbins Building at 89 Kings Highway in Dover, at license agents throughout the state or online at www.fw.delaware.gov, which also includes a list of license agents. Collector stamps and prints are sold only at the Division’s administrative offices.

For more information, call the Division of Fish and Wildlife at 739-9911.