The 2020 Louisiana Duck Stamp winning entry, submitted by Adam Grimm of two ring-necked ducks.
Mottled duck will be the featured species for 2021 Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) announced. The rules and timeframe of the contest, also known as the Louisiana Duck Stamp competition, were released Monday (March 16) by LDWF.
Entries will be accepted from Oct. 19-Oct. 27, 2020. The contest will be held in the Joe Herring-Louisiana Room at LDWF Headquarters in Baton Rouge starting at 10 a.m. on Oct. 28, 2020. The public is invited to attend.
“Year-round residents of Louisiana’s coastal marshes, mottled ducks are truly our duck,’’ said Larry Reynolds, LDWF Waterfowl Program Manager.
Sometimes called black mallards or Summer French ducks, mottled ducks are large, dark-brown dabbling ducks that frequent coastal marsh and adjacent agricultural fields and pastures along the western Gulf Coast from Mexico to coastal Alabama.
Because mottled ducks live their entire lives in coastal wetland habitats, they are at risk from the degradation and loss of those habitats. Both mid-winter and breeding population estimates for mottled ducks have declined markedly in the last decade, resulting in a growing conservation concern for this iconic Gulf Coast species.
The 2020 contest was restricted to designs featuring ring-necked ducks. Adam Grimm’s incredibly realistic rendition of a late-season pair alertly swimming in a classic wetland scene continued a long tradition of excellent stamp designs. The Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp bearing that design will go on sale June 1.
The 2021 contest will be restricted to designs with mottled duck as the focal species. Artists are reminded of the requirement for associated habitat.
“The primary objective of this program is to provide revenue to create, enhance and maintain habitat for waterfowl and associated wetland wildlife,” Reynolds said, “so a habitat component is required in each entry and is one of the five judging criteria.”
To enter, an artist must submit an original, unpublished work of art, along with a signed and notarized artist's agreement and a $50 entry fee. Entries shall be addressed to:
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Attn: Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp Program
2000 Quail Drive
Baton Rouge, LA 70808
Please visit these links to fill out the 2021 Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp competition artist agreement and see the full list of rules.
https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/assets/Hunting/Waterfowl/Files/2021-duck-stamp-agreement.pdf
https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/assets/Hunting/Waterfowl/Files/2021-duckstamp-contest-rules.pdf
Please note the additional guidelines in the rules regarding shipping of paintings. Due to issues experienced in 2019, LDWF has adjusted shipping rules to minimize risk of damage to contest entries.
The Louisiana Legislature authorized the Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp program in 1988. The program was created to generate revenues for conservation and enhancement of waterfowl populations and habitats in Louisiana.
Since 1989, nearly $15 million has been generated for wetland conservation with approximately $6 million spent on land acquisition. In addition, revenues have 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, providing habitat for waterfowl and other wetland birds on private lands.
Judging for the art competition will be based on the following criteria:
- Accuracy of form, size, proportion, color and posture.
2. Level and accuracy of detail in all aspects of the waterfowl.
3. Appropriateness, accuracy and detail in depiction of the habitat.
4. Attractiveness and creativity in composition, subject, background and lighting.
5. Suitability for reproduction as stamps and prints.
A panel of judges with experience in waterfowl biology and/or artistic method will select the winning design. The competition is open to all artists 18 years of age and older. Employees of LDWF and members of their immediate families are ineligible.
For more information on the Louisiana Duck Stamp program, go to https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/louisiana-duck-stamp.
For more information, contact Larry Reynolds at 225-765-0456 or lreynolds@wlf.la.gov.