Hunters, chook watchers, stamp collectors, and artists celebrated because the 2024-2025 Federal Migratory Fowl Searching and Conservation Stamp – generally generally known as the Duck Stamp – went on sale. The brand new Federal Duck Stamp and its youthful sibling, the Junior Duck Stamp, debuted in the present day at a particular occasion hosted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the Bass Professional Retailers in Hanover, Maryland.
“I’m honored to be one of many first individuals to purchase the 2024-2025 Federal and Junior Duck Stamps!” stated U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams. “I hope everybody throughout the nation will be a part of me in placing their stamp on wetland conservation and celebrating the artists who’ve devoted their ardour in direction of wildlife and the good open air.”
Painted by Chuck Black of Belgrade, Montana, the brand new Federal Duck Stamp will elevate tens of millions of {dollars} for habitat conservation which advantages wildlife and the American individuals. The northern pintail featured on the brand new stamp is Black’s first Federal Duck Stamp designed for the U.S. Division of the Inside. His paintings was chosen in September 2023 from 199 entries within the nation’s solely federally regulated artwork contest.
The 2024-2025 Junior Duck Stamp, which additionally went on sale in the present day, raises funds to help youth conservation schooling. This yr’s stamp incorporates a king eider painted by 17-year-old Emily Lian from Oregon.
The Federal Duck Stamp performs a critically necessary function in wildlife conservation. Since 1934, gross sales of this stamp have raised greater than $1.2 billion to preserve over 6 million acres of wetlands habitat on nationwide wildlife refuges across the nation.
Waterfowl will not be the one species that profit from wetland habitat conservation. 1000’s upon 1000’s of shorebirds, herons, raptors and songbirds, in addition to mammals, fish, native crops, reptiles and amphibians depend on these landscapes as nicely. As well as, endangered, threatened and different at-risk species resembling Birds of Conservation Concern just like the reddish egret and long-billed curlew, use wetland and linked upland habitat to feed, breed, migrate, winter and relaxation.
For the primary time, the Service shall be providing the 2024-2025 Federal Digital Duck Stamps (e-stamps) for buy by beforehand enrolled states in addition to by Amplex. The brand new duck stamps are additionally out there for buy on-line, at sporting items and retail shops, and a few put up places of work and nationwide wildlife refuges.
Funds raised from the sale of Federal Duck Stamps go towards the acquisition and lease of habitat for the Nationwide Wildlife Refuge System. Duck Stamps – whereas required for waterfowl hunters as a part of their annual license – are additionally voluntarily bought by birders, out of doors lovers and followers of nationwide wildlife refuges who perceive the worth of conserving a number of the most numerous and necessary wildlife habitats in our nation. Stamp and wildlife artwork collectors additionally worth these miniature items of artwork and American historical past and contribute to conservation by their purchases of duck stamps.
A present Federal Duck Stamp is sweet free of charge admission to any nationwide wildlife refuge that expenses an entry payment. Of the 571 refuges, most provide unparalleled out of doors leisure alternatives, together with searching, fishing, chook watching and pictures.
The Junior Duck Stamp Artwork Contest is the end result of a year-long instructional program that encourages college students to study wetlands and waterfowl conservation, discover their pure world and create a portray or drawing of a duck, goose or swan as their “visible time period paper” to show what they realized. Roughly 25,000 college students in Ok-Twelfth grades yearly take part within the artwork contest.
The profitable paintings on the Junior Duck Stamp Artwork Contest is made right into a stamp the Service sells for $5 to conservationists, educators, college students, collectors and the general public. Proceeds help conservation schooling on the state and native degree. For the reason that first Junior Duck Stamps went on sale in 1993, nicely over $1.4 million has been raised, which is re-invested on this distinctive conservation arts and science schooling program throughout the nation.
Throughout in the present day’s occasion, Director Williams introduced the 2024 Federal Duck Stamp Artwork Contest to pick out the 2025-2026 Federal Duck Stamp, which shall be held September 19-20 on the Bruce Museum in Connecticut.
Study extra in regards to the Federal and Junior Duck Stamps.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works with others to preserve, shield and improve fish, wildlife, crops and their habitats for the persevering with good thing about the American individuals. For extra data, go to www.fws.gov, or join with us by any of those social media channels: Fb, Instagram, X (previously generally known as Twitter), LinkedIn, YouTube and Flickr.
