Federal Duck Stamp Print

In 1996, Grimm placed fourth in the Junior Duck Stamp Contest. Modeled after the Federal Duck Stamp art competition, the Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Contest is part of an innovative educational curriculum that teaches youngsters in grades K-12 about wetlands and waterfowl conservation. Grimm placed fourth in the 1996 Junior Duck Stamp Contest. Grimm's 2000-2001 Federal Duck Stamp, which goes on sale nationwide July 1, depicts a mottled duck preening and stretching its wings on a sun-dappled lake.

Formally known as Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps, Duck Stamps are a required purchase each year for waterfowl hunters age 16 and older. A growing number of stamp collectors and conservationists also purchase them as a way to contribute to wildlife and habitat conservation, and the Duck Stamp program has become one of the nation's most successful conservation efforts. Duck Stamps also afford free entrance to those national wildlife refuges where entry fees are charged.

Money from the sale of Duck Stamps is used to acquire wetlands for the National Wildlife Refuge System, one of the world's most diverse collections of lands and waters dedicated to wildlife. To date more than half a billion dollars in Duck Stamp sales has been used to purchase more than 5 million acres of habitat for the 520-unit refuge system.

In honor of the new millennium, this year's Federal Duck Stamp features some design changes that are sure to please stamp collectors and dealers, hunters and conservationists alike. They have a light purple border and they now come twenty stamps to a pane, reducing waste when they are separated into collectable plate singles, plate blocks and stamp singles. Panes of the new stamp display the artist's name and the work's title, "Dawn of a New Millennium," in the border area.

Federal Duck Stamps are available in the traditional gummed format as well as a self-adhesive stamp mounted on a dollar bill-sized carrier sheet packed with information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The self-adhesive, single Federal Duck Stamp is available from post office vending machines and other 24-hour access sites, and may eventually be dispensed from automatic teller machines.

Adam Grimm will be honored in his hometown of Elyria, Ohio, on July 22. The event at Elyria Catholic High School, which will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will promote youth conservation issues and will feature live animals and displays from a number of conservation groups.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 520 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and help foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.