Well, this weekend certainly was not what I expected. A quiet and rare weekend at home in Memphis turned into an opportunity to be a part of conservation history and a story I will tell well into the future. As old sayings go, “sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good” and in this case “sometimes it pays to be in the right place.”

The Federal Duck Stamp contest, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious wildlife art contest, was hosted in Memphis for the second straight year by Ducks Unlimited and its partners, the Greater Memphis Arts Council and Memphis College of Art. The judging panel was to include co-host and consulting producer for Animal Planet, Vannessa Garnick; retired 42-year USFWS employee, Harvey Nelson; accomplished author/journalist, John Maclean; Barbara Higgins Bond a graduate of Memphis College of Art and native of Little Rock; and Janet Klug, president of the American Philatelic Society, the world’s largest nonprofit organization for stamp collecting. The alternate judge was to be Kirk Dupps, vice-chairman of the board of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Dr. Bruce Batt of Ducks Unlimited and Ray Bentley, USFWS Flyway Biologist/Pilot were selected to serve as technical advisors to the judges (see Contest Brochure for more on judges and contests stats).


A large crowd viewed the entries throughout the week at the Memphis College of Art.

As it turns out, judge Vanessa Garnick came down with a last minute illness and the alternate, Kirk Dupps injured his back. Both were unable to make their judging appointments. The federal duck stamp staff selected Dr. Batt as the eleventh hour replacement judge and named me as Dr. Batt’s replacement as a technical advisor to the judges.

I had arrived Friday morning having been selected as a part of a four-person panel discussion about the federal duck stamp (the panel included Paul Schmidt, Asst. Director for Migratory Birds, USFWS; Sherrie Russell Meline – 2005 contest winner, and Maynard Reese- five time contest winner). As you might expect, I was quite excited about the extended opportunity to be a part of such a storied conservation program. Of course, I have been involved, as all duck hunters are, through stamp purchases since 1980. I have also represented Arkansas as an ex officio at several Migratory Bird Conservation Commission meetings (in my tenure with the AGFC) and have visited many of these purchased areas first hand, even hunted a few (National Wildlife Refuges and Waterfowl Production Areas).

Judges score entry #268, the eventual wining stamp in Round 3 a 24 out of 25.

History was again made Saturday, as wildlife artist Richard C. Clifton, 44, a duck hunter from Milford, Del., won the 2006 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest. Clifton’s painting of two swimming ring-necked ducks bested 296 other entries and will grace the 2007-2008 Federal Duck Stamp. Eligible species for this year's contest included the wood duck, American wigeon, ring-necked duck, gadwall and cinnamon teal. Some 53 percent of the entries this year were wood ducks.


Thejudges stand with their top selections and Paul Schmidt, Asst. Director for Migratory Birds (left) and USFWS Deputy Director, Marshall Jones (right).

Originally created in 1934 as the federal licenses required for hunting migratory waterfowl, the sale of federal duck stamps raises approximately $25 million each year to fund waterfowl habitat acquisition for the National Wildlife Refuge System. Over5.2 million acres of waterfowl habitat have been purchased with duck stamp dollars. As hunters know, all waterfowl hunters age 16 and older are required to purchase and carry Duck Stamps. What they may not know is 98 percent of the proceeds from the $15 Duck Stamp go into the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, which purchases wetlands for the national wildlife refuge system.

On a special local note, Memphis artist Clay Conner finished in a tie for sixth place (out of the almost 300 entries) with an acrylic painting of a wood duck pair.


Memphis artist Clay Conner's entry makes it to the 3rd round.

I will take away many memories from this weekend and I will always be honored that I was able to play a small role in the history of such a storied program.