[Federal Register: February 3, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 22)]
[Notices]
[Page 5305]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03fe03-67]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
2003 Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp (Federal Duck
Stamp) Contest
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service announces the dates and
locations of the 2003 Federal Duck Stamp contest; the public is invited
to enter and to attend.
DATES: 1. The official date to begin submission of entries to the 2003
contest is July 1, 2003. All entries must be postmarked no later than
midnight, Monday, September 15, 2003.
2. The public may view the 2003 Federal Duck Stamp Contest entries
on Monday, November 3, 2003, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
3. Judging will be held on Tuesday, November 4, 2003, from 10:30
a.m. to 5 p.m. and Wednesday, November 5, 2003, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
ADDRESSES: Requests for complete copies of the regulations,
reproduction rights agreement, and display and participation agreement
may be requested by calling 1-703-358-2000, or requests may be
addressed to: Federal Duck Stamp Contest, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Department of the Interior, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Mail
Stop MBSP-4070, Arlington, VA 22203-1610. You may also download the
information from the Federal Duck Stamp Web site at http://duckstamps.fws.gov
.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Terry Bell, telephone (703) 358-
2002, E-mail terry_bell@fws.gov or fax: (703) 358-2009.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On March 16, 1934, Congress passed and President Franklin Roosevelt
signed the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act. Popularly known as the
Duck Stamp Act, it required all waterfowl hunters 16 years or older to
buy a stamp annually. The revenue generated was originally earmarked
for the Department of Agriculture, but 5 years later was transferred to
the Department of the Interior and the Fish and Wildlife Service to buy
or lease waterfowl sanctuaries.
In the years since its enactment, the Federal Duck Stamp Program
has become one of the most popular and successful conservation programs
ever initiated. Today, some 1.6 million stamps are sold each year, and,
as of 2002, Federal Duck Stamps have generated more than $600 million
for the preservation of more than 5 million acres of waterfowl habitat
in the United States. Numerous other birds, mammals, fish, reptiles and
amphibians have similarly prospered because of habitat protection made
possible by the program. An estimated one-third of the Nation's
endangered and threatened species find food or shelter in refuges
preserved by Duck Stamp funds. Moreover, the protected wetlands help
dissipate storms, purify water supplies, store flood water, and nourish
fish hatchlings important for sport and commercial fishermen.
The Contest
The first Federal Duck Stamp was designed, at President Franklin
Roosevelt's request, by Jay N. ``Ding'' Darling, a nationally known
political cartoonist for the Des Moines Register and a noted hunter and
wildlife conservationist. In subsequent years, noted wildlife artists
were asked to submit designs. The first contest was opened in 1949 to
any U.S. artist who wished to enter, and 65 artists submitted a total
of 88 design entries in the only art competition of its kind sponsored
by the U.S. Government. To select each year's design, a panel of noted
art, waterfowl, and philatelic authorities are appointed by the
Secretary of the Interior. Winners receive no compensation for the
work, except a pane of their stamps, but winners may sell prints of
their designs, which are sought by hunters, conservationists, and art
collectors.
The public may view the 2003 Federal Duck Stamp Contest entries on
Monday, November 3, 2003, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Department of
the Interior Auditorium (``C'' Street entrance), 1849 C Street, NW.,
Washington, DC. This year's judging will be held Tuesday, November 4,
2003, beginning at 10:30 a.m. and continuing at 9 a.m. on Wednesday,
November 5, 2003.
Dated: January 26, 2003.
Steve Williams,
Director.
[FR Doc. 03-2379 Filed 1-31-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P