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Waterfowl Stamp and Trout Stamp art selected

May 9, 2014

The 2015 Waterfowl and Trout  Stamp artwork was selected April 24 at the Delaware Agriculture Museum. This is the 35th year for the waterfowl stamp contest, and the stamp will be designated as the Governor Series.

A panel of five judges selected the artwork by artists from throughout the United States. The Waterfowl Stamp judges included the Ducks Unlimited chairman, a member of the Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish, and three judges randomly selected by the director of fish and wildlife from a pool that included conservationists, biologists and artists.

The Trout Stamp judges include the current Ducks Unlimited chairman, a member of Trout Unlimited, a member of the Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish, and a randomly selected biologist and artist. The judges based their decisions on originality, artistic composition, anatomical accuracy and suitability for reproduction as a stamp and print.

The Division of Fish and Wildlife, in partnership with Ducks Unlimited, began the Waterfowl 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 birds.

Trout stamps have been required since the 1930s, but the art competition did not begin until 1977. The fees derived from the state’s Trout Stamp program are used to purchase trout to stock selected streams in New Castle County and one pond in Kent County and one pond in Sussex County. Both grand prize winners are Delaware residents.

The Trout Stamp requirements were either a brown, brook or rainbow trout in a setting or environment in Delaware. The Waterfowl Stamp had to depict a native Black Duck with ducklings in a Delaware Bayshore habitat.

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