State artists 2nd, 3rd in stamp art contest
Scot Storm of Freeport, Minnesota, won the 2018 Federal Duck Stamp design contest, while Wisconsin artists Frank Mittlestadt of Beaver Dam took second and Greg Alexander of Ashland took third.
Storm’s winning entry was an acrylic painting featuring a drake wood duck and a weathered decoy on a still, foggy pond.
The painting was selected from 153 entries at a Sept. 15 judging ceremony held in Las Vegas.
Storm’s painting will be made into the 2019-’20 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, commonly known as the Federal Duck Stamp, and will be available for purchase in June 2019.
Storm also won the stamp design contest in 2003.
Eligible species for this year’s Federal Duck Stamp Contest were the wood duck, American wigeon, northern pintail, green-winged teal and lesser scaup. Artists were required to include a hunting component in their work.
Wisconsin artists fared very well in this year’s contest.
Mittlestadt of Beaver Dam was runnerup with an acrylic painting of a drake wood duck perched on a log while a hunter tended to decoys with his dog in the background.
Alexander of Ashland took third place with his acrylic painting of lesser scaup setting wings over a decoy spread near a hunter and his dog.
All U.S. waterfowl hunters age 16 and over are required to purchase the $25 stamp. Some non-hunters, including birdwatchers, conservationists, stamp collectors and others also purchase the stamp in support of habitat conservation.
In addition to assisting with U.S. conservation efforts, a current Federal Duck Stamp can be used for free admission to any national wildlife refuge that charges an entry fee.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service oversees the design contest and produces the Federal Duck Stamp.
Proceeds from stamp sales raise up to $40 million each year, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service, and are used for
the acquisition or lease of habitat for the National Wildlife Refuge System.
Wisconsin duck season: The 2018 Wisconsin regular duck hunting season begins 30 minutes before sunrise Saturday in each zone.
The northern zone runs Sept. 29 and run through Nov. 27. The southern zone will run from Sept 29 to Oct. 7, close for a five-day split and then open from Oct. 13 to Dec. 2. The Mississippi Zone will be open Sept 29 to Oct. 5, close for a 7-day split, and then run Oct. 13 to Dec. 4.
The daily bag limit statewide is six ducks, including no more than four mallards (of which only one may be a hen), three wood ducks, three scaup, two canvasbacks, two pintail, two redheads and one black duck.
Licenses and stamps required for duck hunting include a Wisconsin small game license (included in the Conservation Patron and Sports licenses), a Wisconsin waterfowl stamp and a federal migratory bird stamp.