[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 70 (Wednesday, April 12, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18697-18702]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-5223]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

50 CFR Part 91

RIN 1018-AU56


Revision of Federal Duck Stamp Contest Regulations

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service (Service, or we), propose to 
revise the regulations governing the annual Migratory Bird Hunting and 
Conservation Stamp Contest [also known as the Federal Duck Stamp 
Contest (contest)]. Our proposed amendments would raise the contest 
entry fee by $25, to $125; update contest opening and entry deadline 
dates, locations, and mail and Internet site information; specify 
penalties for contestants who contact judges or copy designs from the 
Internet; relieve restrictions on our ability to announce judges' 
names; clarify ambiguous language in our regulations concerning matting 
of entries and minimum age of entrants; and update or correct technical 
advising for the contest, the common names and spelling of species on 
our list of contest design subjects, and minor grammar errors.

DATES: To ensure our consideration, we must receive your comments on 
this proposal by May 12, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any one of the following methods:
    1. Federal Duck Stamp Web site: http://www.fws.gov/duckstamps. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    2. E-mail: [email protected].
    3. Fax: 703-358-2009 to Chief, Federal Duck Stamp Office.
    4. U.S. Mail: Chief, Federal Duck Stamp Office, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Mail Stop MBSP-4070, 
Arlington, VA 22203-1622.
    5. Hand Delivery: Federal Duck Stamp Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, 4501 North Fairfax Drive, Room 4070, Arlington, VA.
    6. Federal eRulemaking Portal:  http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments.
    For more information on requirements for submitting or viewing 
comments, see ``Public Comments Solicited'' under SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia Fisher, Chief, Federal Duck 
Stamp Office, (703) 358-2000 (phone), [email protected] (e-mail), or 
(703) 358-2009 (fax).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We propose to revise the regulations 
governing the annual Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp 
Contest [also known as the Federal Duck Stamp Contest (contest)]. Our 
proposed amendments would raise the contest entry fee by $25, to $125; 
update contest opening and entry deadline dates, locations, and mail 
and Internet site information, so that our regulations would be brought 
up to date with our current and new practices. They would also specify 
penalties for contestants who contact judges or copy designs from the 
Internet; relieve restrictions on our ability to announce judges' 
names; clarify ambiguous language in our regulations concerning matting 
of entries and minimum age of entrants; and update or correct contest 
technical advisor information, the treatment and spelling of species' 
common names on our contest design subject list, and minor grammar 
errors. We do not believe the proposed changes have much impact on the 
body of the regulations, and, except for the plagiarism penalty, the 
increase in the entry fee, and the penalty for contacting judges, they 
relieve restrictions on the public, clarify existing and new practices, 
or make corrections. Therefore we believe 30 days will allow the public 
sufficient time to review and respond to our proposed changes. The 
public will benefit from having final regulations in place well in 
advance of our June 2006 contest opening date.

[[Page 18698]]

Background

History of the Federal Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp (Duck Stamp) 
Program

    On March 16, 1934, Congress passed and President Franklin D. 
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 Service. We are 
legislatively mandated to use the revenue first to administer the Duck 
Stamp permit program and contest, and secondly for conservation, 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 1.8 million stamps are sold each year, and 
as of 2004, Federal Duck Stamps have generated more than $700 million 
for the preservation of more than 5.2 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.

History of the Duck Stamp Contest

    The first Federal Duck Stamp was designed at President 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 Federal Duck Stamp Contest was opened in 
1949 to any U.S. artist who wished to enter, and 65 artists submitted a 
total of 88 design entries. Since then, the contest has attracted large 
numbers of entrants, and it remains the only art competition of its 
kind sponsored by the U.S. Government. The Secretary of the Interior 
appoints a panel of noted art, waterfowl, and philatelic authorities to 
select each year's winning design. 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.

Proposed Changes

    The regulations governing the contest are at 50 CFR part 91. Our 
proposed amendments raise the entry fee from $100 to $125, to help 
offset the rising cost of administering the contest, update the contest 
regulations concerning opening and entry deadline dates, making the new 
dates earlier than the ones currently specified in part 91, and specify 
penalties for contestants who contact judges. These revisions also 
remove a restriction governing our ability to announce names of judges. 
To update our regulations to reflect the ascendance of Internet 
technology, we also now expressly prohibit contestants from copying 
designs from the Internet. Although in the past we have held the 
contest solely in Washington, DC, from 2005 on, we have begun and plan 
to continue to hold the contest in a different U.S. location each year. 
Therefore, we will update contest location information. These changes 
also clarify ambiguous language in our regulations concerning matting 
of entries and minimum age of entrants. These amendments also update 
Service mail and Internet site information; update the common names and 
spellings of species on our list of potential contest design subjects; 
update the regulations to reflect a change in technical advising for 
the contest; and correct minor grammar errors.

Service Mailing Addresses; Location of Contest

    We correct the address of the Duck Stamp Office as it appears at 
Sec.  91.1(b) and Sec.  91.16(b), because the office is no longer in 
Washington, DC, but is now located in Arlington, VA.
    The current regulations at Sec.  91.22 reflect the long tradition 
of the contest being held in Washington, DC, at the Main Interior 
Building auditorium. However, the 2006 contest will be the second 
contest to take place outside of Washington, DC. We plan to hold future 
duck stamp contests in various U.S. locations corresponding to flyways. 
Therefore, we are removing the sentence from Sec.  91.22 that states 
that the contest is held in the Main Interior Building auditorium. 
Holding the contest in various geographic locations will help attract 
more attention to the program, hopefully increasing the number of 
contest entries and giving a greater number of people throughout the 
U.S. access to the contest. The overall goal is to increase duck stamp 
stales to gain additional funds with which to purchase waterfowl 
habitat. The 2005 Duck Stamp Contest was the first contest ever held 
outside Washington, DC and took place at the Memphis College of Arts, 
in Memphis, TN. The 2006 contest will also be held in Memphis, at the 
same location.

Updating Species' Common Names or Spellings

    Section 91.4 contains our list of eligible species. For each year's 
contest, we choose five or fewer species from the list; one or more of 
those species (or a combination thereof; see Sec.  91.14) are the only 
acceptable subjects for entries during that contest year. We announce 
each year's eligible species in a Federal Register notice, as well as 
in other materials we prepare and make available. Our list in Sec.  
91.4 contains scientific and common names accepted by the American 
Ornithologists' Union (AOU; http://www.aou.org/; see also the AOU 
Check-list at http://www.aou.org/checklist/birdlist46.pdf, our standard 
reference on taxonomy, nomenclature, and capitalization). Since we 
first wrote our regulations, the AOU has changed the common name for 
the species Clangula hyemalis, from ``Oldsquaw'' to ``Long-tailed 
Duck.'' For Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens), we add the clarification 
that both ``white'' and ``blue'' morphs are on the list in Sec.  91.4. 
We make these changes, along with spelling corrections of some other 
names, to our list in Sec.  91.4 so that this list will reflect the 
most current scientific and common names.

Contest Opening and Entry Deadline Dates

    We are correcting Sec.  91.11 of the regulations to bring the dates 
of the contest into alignment with current practices. The contest is 
now being held in early fall. Therefore, we now open the contest and 
start accepting entries on June 1 of each year, instead of July 1, as 
currently specified in the regulations. If you wish to enter a design 
in the contest, you must postmark your packaged entry no later than 
midnight on August 15. The current regulations give this deadline as 
September 15, but it is no longer correct.
    When we first wrote our regulations and codified them in the Code 
of Federal Regulations (CFR), the Internet was not as widely used as it 
is today. Therefore, we are taking this opportunity to add to Sec.  
91.11(c) that you can obtain the most up-to-date contest information by 
viewing the Web site http://www.fws.gov/duckstamps or by calling (703) 
358-2000.

[[Page 18699]]

Increase in Contest Entry Fee; Clarification of Minimum Age of Entrants

    We propose to raise the contest entry fee from $100 to $125 (Sec.  
91.12), to help offset the rising cost of administering the contest. 
This modest increase is our first since 1996. It will help us continue 
to improve the contest. We also propose to change the language 
specifying minimum age of contest entrants so that the minimum age will 
remain 18 no matter when the contest begins.

Clarification of Entry Format Requirements

    We are revising our regulations concerning contest entry format to 
more specifically guide entrants on proper matting procedures. In the 
past, some entrants have used glue to affix matting to their pictures, 
or have used other incorrect practices. You must not permanently affix 
matting to your picture, because if you later sell your picture, 
someone who has bought it might want to put it in another mat for 
framing. However, it is best to present your entry for the contest with 
matting affixed to the front of it, because judges will be judging your 
entry as it appears with matting--i.e., the judges do not look at extra 
painting that may lie beneath the matting. We are revising our 
regulations at Sec.  91.13 to say that you must affix matting to your 
picture with white or clear tape that can be removed later.

Preventing Internet Plagiarism; Including Noneligible Species in 
Designs

    Existing Sec.  91.14 specifies that ``an entry design may not be 
copied or duplicated from previously published art, including 
photographs.'' We now update this section to add that an entry design 
may not be copied or duplicated from images in any format on the 
Internet. This section also explains that a live portrayal of any 
bird(s) of the five or fewer identified eligible species must be the 
dominant feature of the design, but that the design may depict other 
appropriate things such as hunting dogs, as long as the eligible bird 
or birds are in the foreground and center of attention We propose to 
add that appropriate noneligible bird species are also allowed to 
appear in the background of the design. We have been verbally advising 
entrants that noneligible bird species are allowed in the background of 
designs; therefore, we simply want to codify the practice we have been 
following.

Penalties for Contestants Who Contact Judges; Broadening the Judge 
Selection Process

    We are amending Sec.  91.21 to add penalties for contestants who 
contact judges before or during the contest. The penalty will be 
disqualification from that year's contest. Also, that person will be 
prohibited from entering the following 3 contests. Thus, the person 
would be prohibited from entering a total of 4 contests. In this same 
section, we are removing a restriction governing our selection of 
judges by removing from Sec.  91.21(a) the stipulation that we will 
announce judges' names on the first day of the contest. This change 
allows us to announce our judges prior to the start of each year's 
contest, rather than waiting until the contest actually starts, and 
thereby allows us to publicize the contest more widely.

Technical Advising for the Contest

    In our current regulations at Sec.  91.24, we state that the Bureau 
of Engraving and Printing analyzes contest finalists' entries and 
advises us of any serious anatomical problems or design problems from 
the perspective of an engraver. However, since we wrote those 
regulations, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has ceased production 
of stamps. Therefore, we are revising Sec.  91.24 to note that our 
technical advisor is now the U.S. Postal Service.

Required Determinations

Regulatory Planning and Review (E.O. 12866)

    This document is not a significant rule and is not subject to 
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 
(E.O.) 12866.
    1. This rule will not have an annual effect of $100 million or more 
on the economy. It will not adversely affect in a material way the 
economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public 
health or safety, or State, local, or tribal governments or 
communities.
    2. This rule will not create a serious inconsistency or otherwise 
interfere with an action taken or planned by another agency. The rule 
deals solely with the Federal Duck Stamp Contest. No other Federal 
agency has any role in regulating this endeavor.
    3. This rule does not alter budgetary effects or entitlements, 
grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights or obligations of 
their recipients. There are no entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan 
programs associated with the regulation of the Federal Duck Stamp 
Contest.
    4. This rule does not raise novel legal or policy issues. This rule 
is primarily a reorganization and clarification of existing 
regulations. New provisions proposed in the rule are in compliance with 
other laws, policies, and regulations.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Department of the Interior certifies that this document will 
not have a significant economic effect on a substantial number of small 
entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601 et 
seq.). The changes we propose are intended primarily to clarify the 
requirements for the contest. In addition, these changes do not affect 
the information collected These changes will affect individuals, not 
businesses or other small entities as defined in the RFA. The fee 
increase to $125 per entrant from $100 per entrant represents a $25.00 
total increase per entrant. In recent years we have received an average 
of 250 entries per year. If this average remains constant, then 
approximately $6,250.00 is the estimated annual increase to the public 
to participate in the program.

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA)

    This rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804(2), the Small 
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act. This rule:
    1. Does not have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or 
more.
    2. Will not cause a major increase in costs or prices for 
consumers; individual industries; Federal, State, or local government 
agencies; or geographic regions.
    3. Does not have significant adverse effects on competition, 
employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or the ability of 
U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    This rule does not impose an unfunded mandate on State, local, or 
tribal governments or the private sector of more than $100 million per 
year. The rule does not have a significant or unique effect on State, 
local, or tribal governments or the private sector. A statement 
containing the information required by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
(2 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) is not required.

Takings (E.O. 12630)

    In accordance with E.O. 12630, this rule does not have significant 
takings implications. A takings implication assessment is not required.

[[Page 18700]]

Federalism (E.O. 13132)

    In accordance with E.O. 13132, this rule does not have sufficient 
federalism implications to warrant the preparation of a federalism 
assessment. A federalism assessment is not required.

Civil Justice Reform (E.O. 12988)

    In accordance with E.O. 12988, the Office of the Solicitor has 
determined that this rule does not unduly burden the judicial system 
and that it meets the requirements of sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of the 
Order.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This proposed rule does not contain new or revised information 
collections for which Office of Management and Budget approval is 
required under the Paperwork Reduction Act. An agency may not conduct 
or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of 
information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

National Environmental Policy Act

    This rule does not constitute a major Federal action significantly 
affecting the quality of the human environment. A detailed statement 
under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4371 et 
seq.) is therefore not required.

Government-to-Government Relationship With Tribes

    Under the President's memorandum of April 29, 1994, ``Government-
to-Government Relations with Native American Tribal Governments'' (59 
FR 22951), and 512 DM 2, we have evaluated possible effects on 
federally recognized Indian Tribes and have determined that there are 
no effects.

Energy Supply, Distribution or Use

    On May 18, 2001, the President issued Executive Order 13211 on 
regulations that significantly affect energy supply, distribution, and 
use. Executive Order 13211 requires agencies to prepare Statements of 
Energy Effects when undertaking certain actions. This rule proposes to 
revise the current regulations in 50 CFR part 91 that govern the duck 
stamp contest. This proposed rule is not expected to significantly 
affect energy supplies, distribution, and use. Therefore, this action 
is a not a significant energy action and no Statement of Energy Effects 
is required.

Clarity of This Regulation

    E.O. 12866 requires each agency to write regulations that are easy 
to understand. We invite your comments on how to make this rule easier 
to understand, including answers to questions such as the following:
    1. Are the requirements in the rule clearly stated?
    2. Does the rule contain technical language or jargon that 
interferes with its clarity?
    3. Does the format of the rule (grouping and order of sections, use 
of headings, paragraphing, and so forth) aid or reduce its clarity?
    4. Would the rule be easier to understand if it were divided into 
more (but shorter) sections?
    5. Is the description of the rule in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section of the preamble helpful toward your understanding the proposed 
rule? What else could we do to make the rule easier to understand?
    Send a copy of any comments that concern how we could make this 
rule easier to understand to: Office of Regulatory Affairs, Department 
of the Interior, Room 7229, 1849 C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240. 
You may also e-mail the comments to this address: [email protected].

Public Comments Solicited

    We are asking the public, other concerned governmental agencies, 
the scientific community, industry, or any other interested party to 
comment on this rule so that any final action resulting from this 
proposal will be as accurate and as effective as possible. Comments 
will become part of the Administrative Record for this rulemaking 
action. You may inspect comments at the hand-delivery address (given in 
the ADDRESSES section) during normal business hours.
    If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments by any one of 
several methods listed under ADDRESSES. Please submit Internet comments 
as an ASCII file, avoiding the use of special characters and any form 
of encryption. Please also include ``Attn: 1018-AU56'' and your name 
and return U.S. mail address in your Internet message. If you do not 
receive a confirmation from the system that we have received your 
Internet message, contact us directly at (703) 358-2000. Our practice 
is to make comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, 
available for public review during regular business hours. Individual 
respondents may request that we withhold their home address from the 
rulemaking record, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. 
There also may be circumstances in which we would withhold from the 
rulemaking record a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If you 
wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this 
prominently at the beginning of your comment. However, we will not 
consider anonymous comments. We will make all submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 91

    Hunting, Wildlife.

Proposed Regulation Promulgation

    Accordingly, we propose to amend part 91, subchapter G of chapter 
I, title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as set forth below:

PART 91--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 91 continues to read as follows:


    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 16 U.S.C. 718j; 31 U.S.C. 9701.

    2. Amend Sec.  91.1(b) by revising the second sentence and adding a 
third sentence to read as follows:


Sec.  91.1  Purpose of regulations.

    (a) * * *
    (b) * * * A copy of the regulations, along with the Reproduction 
Rights Agreement and Display and Participation Agreement, may be 
requested from the Federal Duck Stamp Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Dr. MBSP-4070, Arlington, VA 22203-1622. These 
documents can also be downloaded from our Web site: http://www.fws.gov/duckstamps/.
* * * * *
    3. Amend Sec.  91.2 by revising the definition of Display and 
participation agreement to read as follows:


Sec.  91.2  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Display and participation agreement--a document that each 
contestant must complete, sign, and submit with the entry. The signed 
agreement allows the Service to display the entry at various locations 
for promotional purposes, and requires the artist to participate in 
events on behalf of the Federal Duck Stamp Program.
* * * * *
    4. Revise Sec.  91.4 to read as follows:


Sec.  91.4  Eligible species.

    Five or fewer of the species listed below will be identified as 
eligible each year; those eligible species will be provided to each 
contestant with the information provided in Sec.  91.1.

[[Page 18701]]

    (a) Whistling-Ducks. (1) Fulvous Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna 
bicolor)
    (2) Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis)
    (b) Swans. (1) Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)
    (2) Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus)
    (c) Geese. (1) Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons)
    (2) Snow Goose (including ``white'' and ``blue'' morphs) (Chen 
caerulescens)
    (3) Ross's Goose (Chen rossii)
    (4) Emperor Goose (Chen canagica)
    (5) Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
    (d) Brant. (1) Brant (Branta bernicla)
    (e) Dabbling Ducks. (1) Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)
    (2) American Wigeon (Anas americana)
    (3) Gadwall (Anas strepera)
    (4) American Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca carolinensis)
    (5) Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
    (6) Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula)
    (7) American Black Duck (Anas rubripes)
    (8) Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
    (9) Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors)
    (10) Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera)
    (11) Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)
    (f) Diving Ducks. (1) Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)
    (2) Redhead (Aythya americana)
    (3) Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris)
    (4) Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)
    (5) Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)
    (g) Sea-Ducks. (1) Common Eider (Somateria mollissima)
    (2) King Eider (Somateria spectabilis)
    (3) Spectacled Eider (Somateria fischeri)
    (4) Steller's Eider (Polysticta stelleri)
    (5) Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus)
    (6) Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis)
    (7) Black Scoter (Melanitta nigra)
    (8) Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)
    (9) White-winged Scoter (Melanitta fusca)
    (10) Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)
    (11) Barrow's Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica)
    (12) Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)
    (h) Mergansers. (1) Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)
    (2) Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)
    (3) Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)
    (i) Stiff Tails. (1) Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)
    5. Revise Sec.  91.11 to read as follows:


Sec.  91.11  Contest opening date and entry deadline.

    The contest will officially open on June 1 of each year. Entries 
must be postmarked no later than midnight, August 15. For the latest 
information on contest time and place as well as all deadlines, please 
visit our Web site at http://www.fws.gov/duckstamps or call (703) 358-
2000.
    6. Revise Sec.  91.12 to read as follows:


Sec.  91.12  Contest eligibility.

    United States citizens, nationals, or resident aliens are eligible 
to participate in the contest. Any person who has won the contest 
during the preceding 3 years will be ineligible to submit an entry in 
the current year's contest. All entrants must be at least 18 years of 
age by the contest opening date (see Sec.  91.11) to participate in the 
Federal Duck Stamp Contest. Contest judges and their relatives are 
ineligible to submit an entry. All entrants must submit a nonrefundable 
fee of $125.00 by cashier's check, certified check, or money order made 
payable to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (Personal checks will not be 
accepted.) All entrants must submit a signed Reproduction Rights 
Agreement and a signed Display and Participation Agreement.
    7. Revise Sec.  91.13 to read as follows:


Sec.  91.13  Technical requirements for design and submission of entry.

    The design must be a horizontal drawing or painting 7 inches high 
and 10 inches wide. The entry may be drawn in any medium desired by the 
contestant and may be either multicolored or black and white. No 
scrollwork, lettering, bird band numbers, signatures or initials may 
appear on the design. Each entry must be matted (on the front only) 
with a 9 inch by 12 inch white mat, 1 inch wide. The matting must be 
affixed with clear or white tape holding the matting to the picture. 
Entries must not be framed, or under glass, or have any protective 
covering (other than the matting) attached to them. The entire entry 
cannot exceed \1/4\ inch in total thickness.
    8. Revise Sec.  91.14 to read as follows:


Sec.  91.14  Restrictions on subject matter for entry.

    A live portrayal of any bird(s) of the five or fewer identified 
eligible species must be the dominant feature of the design. The design 
may depict more than one of the eligible species. Designs may include, 
but are not limited to, hunting dogs, hunting scenes, use of waterfowl 
decoys, National Wildlife Refuges as the background of habitat scenes, 
noneligible species, or other designs that depict uses of the stamp for 
sporting, conservation, and collecting purposes. The overall mandate 
will be to select the best design that will make an interesting, 
useful, and attractive duck stamp that will be accepted and prized by 
hunters, stamp collectors, conservationists, and others. The design 
must be the contestant's original hand-drawn creation. The entry design 
may not be copied or duplicated from previously published art, 
including photographs, or from images in any format published on the 
Internet. Photographs, computer-generated art, or art produced from a 
computer printer or other computer/mechanical output device (airbrush 
method excepted) are not eligible to be entered into the contest and 
will be disqualified. An entry submitted in a prior contest that was 
not selected for a Federal or State stamp design may be submitted in 
the current contest if the entry meets the above criteria.
    9. Revise Sec.  91.16(b) to read as follows:


Sec.  91.16  Submission procedures for entry.

* * * * *
    (b) Each entry should be appropriately wrapped to protect the art 
work and then either hand-delivered or sent by registered mail, 
certified mail, express mail, or overnight delivery service to the 
address is Sec.  91.1(b) of this part.
    10. Revise Sec.  91.17 to read as follows:


Sec.  91.17  Property insurance for contest entries.

    Each contestant is responsible for obtaining adequate insurance 
coverage for his/her entry. Neither the Service nor the Department of 
the Interior will insure the entries, nor is the Service or Department 
responsible for loss or damage unless such is caused by Service or 
Department negligence or willful misconduct. The Service and Department 
reserve the right to determine whether negligence or willful misconduct 
led to artwork being damaged. Entry fees for the subsequent year's 
contest may be waived for artists whose artwork we determine to be 
damaged by any negligence on our part. This waiver remains at our 
discretion.
    11. Amend Sec.  91.21 by removing the final sentence from paragraph 
(a) and adding a new paragraph (c), to read as follows:


Sec.  91.21  Selection and qualification of contest judges.

* * * * *
    (c) Disqualification. Any contestant who contacts a judge prior to 
or during the contest will automatically be disqualified from the 
current year's

[[Page 18702]]

contest and barred from entering the three contests that come after the 
current year's contest.
    12. Revise Sec.  91.22 to read as follows:


Sec.  91.22  Display of contest entries.

    The Federal Duck Stamp Office assigns all eligible entries a number 
as entries are received. That office displays the entries in numerical 
order at the contest site.


Sec.  91.24  [Amended]

    13. Amend Sec.  91.24(f) by removing the words ``Bureau of 
Engraving and Printing'' and adding the words ``U.S. Postal Service'' 
in their place.

    Dated: March 30, 2006.
Matt Hogan,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. E6-5223 Filed 4-11-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P