John Nelson Harris' winning entry in the 2025 Louisiana Duck Stamp Contest.

John Nelson Harris of Groveland, Florida, has won the 2025 Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp Competition sponsored by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF). Harris is a three-time winner of the contest, also claiming the top prize in 2016 and 2021.

The annual contest, in its 37th year, determines the image on what is commonly called the Louisiana Duck Stamp. The 2025 stamp will be available in June of 2025.

The black-bellied whistling duck was the species selected for this year’s contest. Harris’ work features three ducks near a still waterbody with two taking flight and another resting on the water.

Second place went to Tim Taylor of Watertown, South Dakota, and third place to Guy Crittenden of Richmond, Virginia.

Tim Taylor's second place entry in the 2025 Louisiana Duck Stamp Contest.

Guy Crittenden's third place entry in the 2025 Louisiana Duck Stamp Contest.

A total of 17 entries were submitted from artists representing seven different states, including 11 from Louisiana, with others from Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, Maryland, South Dakota and Virginia.

“The competition was pretty stiff this year,” said LDWF Waterfowl Program Manager Jason Olszak. “The total number of submitted art pieces was up this year, many of which could have easily won this, or other competitions. John’s work was one of the exemplary pieces that we are proud to have represented on this coming year’s stamp.

”In addition to those that purchase it providing additional support for conservation, it will make a great addition to both the print and stamp collections of many across the state and beyond. Proceeds for the stamp will go directly to waterfowl and wetland habitat projects that benefit Louisiana’s wintering, migrating, and breeding waterfowl. A new feature this year, stamps can now be purchased while buying your other licenses from the LDWF website.’’

Harris has won many state duck stamp contests through the last 25 years, including Louisiana’s. He is a three-time winner of the Florida duck stamp contest, a two-time winner of the California contest and also has won the Oklahoma, Washington and Montana state contests.

In addition, Harris has produced two Canadian Conservation Waterfowl Stamps and won two Ducks Unlimited Local State Artist of the Year awards.

Harris is retired after spending 35 years as a cast member working as an Artist Preparator at Walt Disney World’s Epcot theme park.

Taylor was the 2018 Louisiana Duck Stamp winner and also won the 2010-11 California Duck Stamp contest. Crittenden, a former winner of the Louisiana contest in 2015 and 2019, has won the Virginia Duck Stamp competition seven times since 2005 and captured duck state contests in 14 states with 24 Waterfowl Conservation Stamps to his credit.

Judges for this year’s contest included Barret Fortier of Folsom, a senior wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Southeast Louisiana Refuges Complex;
Katie Miranda of Hammond, an LSU Master’s student in Renewable Natural Resources who has been researching large-scale movements and breeding ecology of black-bellied whistling ducks; Bonnie Camos of Lafayette, a University of Louisiana-Lafayette graduate, longtime art instructor and vice president of the Lafayette Art Association; Scott Durham of Baton Rouge, former LDWF Wildlife Administrator; and Randy Caminita of Folsom, a renowned wildlife artist.

Classified in the waterfowl subfamily Dendrocygninae, the whistling or tree duck, two of which are common to Louisiana (black-bellied and fulvous), are highly sociable and boisterous. They are neither true ducks nor geese, but exhibit traits and behaviors in common with both. Like geese, whistling duck plumage is identical among the sexes, both of which care for the young. They nest in both tree cavities, including artificial nest boxes, and on the ground, and have the propensity to be prolific nest parasites, laying eggs in the nests of other individuals, even other species.

The Louisiana Legislature authorized the Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp program in 1988. The program was created to generate revenue for conservation and enhancement of waterfowl populations and habitats in Louisiana. During the last 25 years, just under $16 million has been generated for wetland conservation. In addition, revenue has supported wetland development projects on Wildlife Management Areas and the Louisiana Waterfowl Project, a cooperative endeavor between LDWF, Ducks Unlimited, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to provide habitat for waterfowl and other wetland birds on private lands. 

For more information and to purchase the 2023 and/or 2024 stamp, go to https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/louisiana-duck-stamp. For more information on the duck stamp contest, contact Jason Olszak at 337-735-8687 or jolszak@wlf.la.gov.

 For video on the contest, go to https://youtu.be/GTV-a_dqH14.