CNB Hunting/fishing Delaware: Reminder Waterfowl, Trout Stamp contests set for April 23
Sunday, April 19, 2015
DOVER (April 17, 2015) – Wildlife art enthusiasts, stamp and print collectors, waterfowl hunters, anglers, birdwatchers and wetland conservationists will gather at 9 a.m. Thursday, April 23 at the Delaware Agriculture Museum and Village in Dover for the judging of Delaware’s annual Waterfowl Stamp and Trout Stamp contests. Entries will be on display at the museum through Friday, May 8.
Sponsored by the Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife in partnership with Ducks Unlimited, the annual waterfowl stamp contest draws entries by renowned and emerging artists from across the country. The winning artwork will be reproduced on a stamp which must be carried by most waterfowl hunters. Waterfowl stamps are also purchased by collectors and other conservation-minded citizens.
This year will mark the 36th anniversary of the contest, which began 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 $2.5 million has been raised from the purchase of Delaware Waterfowl Stamps. The new Waterfowl Stamp, which will go on sale for the 2016-‘17 hunting season, will feature artwork that must include a green-winged teal and a yellow Labrador retriever.
For the 2016 Trout Stamp contest, artists from across the nation had the opportunity to submit paintings of rainbow, brown or brook trout for consideration. The winning artwork will be reproduced on a stamp that is required for most trout anglers. Some 6,500 trout anglers and stamp collectors support this program annually, generating funds to purchase trout for stocking in six northern New Castle County streams, Tidbury Pond in Kent County and Newton Pond in Sussex County.
Delaware’s Waterfowl Stamp will be selected by five judges to include a Ducks Unlimited designee and a member of the Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish, with the remaining three judges randomly selected by the director of Fish & Wildlife from a pool of available judges that includes conservationists, biologists and artists. The 2016 Delaware Trout Stamp will be selected by five judges: a member of the Delaware Trout Association and a member of the Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish, with the remaining three judges consisting of a biologist, an artist and an angler, also randomly selected.
For more information on Delaware’s Waterfowl Stamp and Trout Stamp programs, please contact the Division of Fish & Wildlife at 302-739-9911, or visit www.fw.delaware.gov.