DU Celebrates First Sale of 2014-2015 Federal Duck Stamps

The new 2014-2015 federal duck stamp goes on sale today, June 27. The stamps, which cost $15, are valid through June 30, 2015. Purchased by millions of waterfowl hunters, wildlife enthusiasts and collectors every year, duck stamps help raise money to purchase and protect wetlands for ducks, geese and other wildlife species.

“Duck stamps are one of the traditional ways hunters and others give back to conservation,” said DU CEO Dale Hall. “We encourage everyone, whether they hunt waterfowl or not, to buy a duck stamp to help conserve our precious wetland resources. Many duck hunters even ‘double up’ their contributions to this conservation effort by buying two stamps every year.”

This year’s federal duck stamp artwork is an oil painting of a pair of canvasbacks by Adam Grimm of Burbank, S.D. Grimm is a repeat winner; his art was also represented on the 2000-2001 federal duck stamp.

Si youn Kim, 16, of Tenafly, N.J., took top honors in the 2013 National Junior Duck Stamp Contest with an acrylic painting of a king eider, which will be featured on the 2014-2015 junior duck stamp, which sell for $5, and the funds go toward environmental education. The junior duck stamp is part of a yearlong conservation program used by educators across the nation.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees the duck stamp programs, hosts a first day of sale ceremony annually at the Interior Department in Washington, D.C.

A “second day of sale” event will be held at Bass Pro Shops in Rossford, Ohio on Saturday, June 28. Grimm, an Ohio native, and winner of the 2013 Ohio Wetland Habitat Stamp competition, will be at the Bass Pro Shop to sign his winning Ohio Wetland Habitat and federal duck stamps. Grimm will display artwork, and his daughter, Madison, recent winner of the 2013 Federal Junior Duck Stamp contest, will join him.

The duck stamp, also known as the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, dates back to 1934. Since then, the program has raised more than $800 million to help acquire and protect more than 6 million acres of wetlands within the National Wildlife Refuge System.

“DU and other conservation groups continue to work hard in Washington to raise the price of the duck stamp, which has remained unchanged since 1991,” Hall said. “We need this increase to help keep pace with inflation and retain the ability of duck stamp funds to conserve habitat. We hope hunters and others conservationists will support this increase when it comes before Congress again in the future.”

Waterfowl hunters age 16 and older are required to purchase and carry a duck stamp while hunting. A duck stamp also provides free admission to national wildlife refuges (NWRs) that are open to the public. Duck stamps are sold at post offices nationwide, online through the U.S. Postal Service, atwww.duckstamp.com and at many NWRs and sporting goods stores. Electronic versions of the duck stamp can also be purchased online – visitwww.fws.gov/duckstamps for more information.

Ducks Unlimited

Ducks Unlimited is the world's leader in wetlands and waterfowl conservation. DU got its start in 1937 during the Dust Bowl when North America’s drought-plagued waterfowl populations had plunged to unprecedented lows. Determined not to sit idly by as the continent’s waterfowl dwindled beyond recovery, a small group of sportsmen joined together to form an organization that became known as Ducks Unlimited. Its mission: habitat conservation. Thanks to decades of abiding by that single mission, Ducks Unlimited is now the world’s largest and most effective private waterfowl and wetlands conservation organization. DU is able to multilaterally deliver its work through a series of partnerships with private individuals, landowners, agencies, scientific communities and other entities.