Richard Clifton of Milford, Del., was selected the winner of the 2017 Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp competition sponsored by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF). The annual contest picks the artwork that will be used on what is called the Louisiana Duck Stamp.
 
It is the second time Clifton, Ducks Unlimited’s 2015 Artist of the Year, has won the competition. His 2010 entry of a hunting scene with northern pintails also captured first place. Clifton’s 2017 entry features three green winged teal in a scenic water setting.
 
Clifton has painted 44 duck stamps from various states and the 1996 Australian Duck Stamp. He also won the 2007-08 Federal Duck Stamp contest.
 
Garrett Jacobs of Orlando, Fla., who recently won the North Carolina duck stamp competition, finished second and Larry Wilburn of Dayton, Texas, was third for the second year in a row.
 
“We had 22 entries for this year’s contest, the most in 10 years,’’ said Larry Reynolds, LDWF’s Waterfowl Program Manager. “The judges commented that this year’s entries were the most difficult to judge in the first round because of the high number of quality works.’’
 
Judges for this year’s contest included Dr. Headley Adelmann, retired biology professor and artist from Hammond, Dr. Jim Bergan, Director of Freshwater and Wetland Conservation for The Nature Conservancy, Dr. Luke Laborde, instructor and researcher at LSU’s School of Renewable Natural Resources, Randy Caminita, professional artist from Folsom and Mark Callais, current Louisiana State Chairman of Ducks Unlimited.
 
The Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp program was established in 1988 by the Louisiana Legislature to generate revenue for conservation and enhancement of state wetlands, benefitting migratory waterfowl overwintering in Louisiana. The program has generated more than $12 million for wetlands conservation in Louisiana since 1989.
 
The 2017 stamp will go on sale June 1, 2017. The artist will retain the original artwork and will have reproduction rights to the image for prints and other commodities after LDWF has used the image to produce the stamps.
 
For more information, contact Larry Reynolds at lreynolds@wlf.la.gov or 225-765-0456.