Goldeneye is Next Year's Federal Stamp
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Robert Steiner of San Francisco, Calif., has won the 2012 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest with a stunning rendition of a swimming common goldeneye.
Steiner's acrylic painting will be made into the 2013-2014 Federal Duck Stamp, which will go on sale in June 2013. Stamp sales, which raise about $25 million a year, are used to conserve and protect wetlands in the National Wildlife Refuge system. Since 1934, duck stamp sales have raised $850 million and helped the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service purchase or lease 6 million acres of wildlife habitat.
"Whether you buy a duck stamp to hunt waterfowl, add to your stamp collection, admire in a frame, or contribute to conservation, you are buying a piece of history," said Jerome Ford, USFWS assistant director for migratory birds. "For nearly 80 years, hunters, wildlife watchers, and millions of other people who purchase federal duck stamps have made a direct contribution to wildlife conservation through the protection of wetland habitats."
Steiner's goldeneye was declared the best of 192 entries in the two-day judging session at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. Steiner had previously won the contest in 1997, and his Barrow's goldeneye appeared on the 1998-1999 stamp. A pair of northern shovelers by Paul Bridgeford of Des Moines, Iowa, took second. Third place was another shoveler pair by Gerald Mobley of Claremore, Okla.
Five species are eligible each year. They included brant, Canada goose, ruddy duck, northern shoveler and common goldeneye.