Forward by Jim Williams Wayzata ===
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Rachel F. Levin, 612-713-5311 Oct. 24, 2007 EA 07-94 Minnesota to Host 2008 Federal Duck Stamp Contest The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today the nation's oldest, most prestigious wildlife art competition will take place in Minnesota next year as the Service's Midwest Region hosts the 2008 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest. The 2008 Federal Duck Stamp Contest will take place during late September or early October in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The winning design chosen at the contest will be made into the 2009-2010 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, or Duck Stamp, the cornerstone of one of the world's most successful conservation programs. The winner of the 2007 Federal Duck Stamp Contest, Joseph Hautman, is from Plymouth, Minn. His painting of a pair of northern pintail ducks was chosen from among 247 images by a distinguished panel of five judges on Oct. 13 in Sanibel, Fla. Hautman's stamp will be the 75th Federal Duck Stamp. Minnesota wildlife artists have created 17 of 75 Federal Duck Stamps ? more than any other state. Minnesotans have purchased more than 9.1 million duck stamps since 1934. The $15 Federal Duck Stamp is a vital tool for wetland conservation, with 98 cents of every dollar generated going to purchase or lease wetland habitat for the National Wildlife Refuge System. Since the stamp's inception, more than $700 million has been raised to acquire more than 5.2 million acres of habitat and hundreds of refuges across the nation to conserve America's fish and wildlife resources. end
