[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 22 (Monday, February 3, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 5305]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-2379]


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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 [email protected] 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