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May 3, 2005 Contact: Chris Tollefson (703) 358-2010

**WISCONSIN YOUTH WINS THE FEDERAL JUNIOR DUCK STAMP COMPETITION**

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that a pair of
ring-necked ducks will be featured on the 2005-2006 Junior Duck Stamp.
The design for the new stamp, painted by 17 year-old Kerissa Nelson of
Grantsburg, WI**,** was chosen by a panel of judges on April 23 at the
Federal Junior Duck Stamp Design Contest in Ocean City, Maryland.

The acrylic painting, entitled "Ringneck Rendezvous," which previously
won the Wisconsin State Junior Duck Stamp Contest was judged the top
painting among the Best-of-State entries from all 50 states. The
2005-2006 Federal Junior Duck Stamp, which the Fish and Wildlife Service
makes available for \$5 to stamp collectors and conservationists, will
be released to the public on June 30, 2005. Proceeds from Junior Duck
Stamp sales are used to support environmental education efforts and
awards for contest winners.

Kerissa Nelson's art teacher is Bruce Teigen. He teaches at Grantsburg
High School.

"It is truly amazing to see the work of artists who are so talented at
such a young age. But what is perhaps more inspiring is the fact that
these kids and thousands more like them around the nation are learning
important lessons about the need to conserve wetland habitat through
their participation in the Junior Duck Stamp Program," said Acting
Service Director Matt Hogan.

Melissa Chen of Gretna, Louisiana, took second place with an oil
painting depicting a redhead called "Redhead on the Delta." The 14
year-old studies art at Greg's Gallery. Greg Chappell is her art
teacher.

Third place went to Holly Cobb, of Sandy, Utah, for her rendition of a
pair of cinnamon teals done in colored pencil. Holly's teacher is Doug
Allen of Alta High School.

The National Junior Duck Stamp Design Contest is the culmination of a
year long Junior Duck Stamp conservation curriculum used by educators
across the nation in their classrooms. Each State hosted competitions
from February until mid-April where Junior Duck Stamp design entries
were judged by a group of people active in the local wildlife art or
conservation community.

State "Best of Show" winning designs were then sent to Washington, D.C.,
where the top three entries were chosen by a panel of five judges. The
Junior Duck Stamp Contest winner receives a free trip to Washington,
D.C., along with the art teacher, a parent and the state coordinator the
following June to be honored at the First Day of Sales Ceremony. The
first-place winner also receives a \$5,000 award. The second place
winner receives \$3,000 and the third-place winner receives \$2,000.

Judges for this year's national Junior Duck Stamp Design Contest were:

-   **Mark Anderson -** Anderson, a self-taught wildlife artist from
    Sioux Falls, SD who began painting in 1980, bested 223 other entries
    to win the 2004 Federal Duck Stamp Contest. His winning image will
    grace the 2005-06 Federal Duck Stamp, to be released to the public
    along with the Junior Duck Stamp on June 30. Anderson has won
    numerous other state waterfowl stamp competitions, and his art is
    highly sought after by collectors.

-   **Loretta Beaumont** - For the past 17 years, Loretta Beaumont has
    worked on conservation issues as a staff assistant for the Interior
    Appropriations Committee in the House of Representatives. She has
    been employed as professional staff on the Committee through both
    Republican and Democratic control of the Congress. Beaumont oversees
    the Fish and Wildlife Service and Environmental Protection Agency
    appropriation accounts, as well as other conservation programs. She
    has worked tirelessly to improve the funding and delivery of
    conservation programs across the nation.

-   **Greg Butcher** -- A prominent ornithologist who is Director of
    Bird Conservation for the National Audubon Society, Butcher works on
    a series of bird conservation initiatives and reports designed to
    restore the continent's bird populations. These initiatives include
    Audubon's WatchList of birds of conservation need, the
    organization's famous analysis of Christmas Bird Count data, the
    North American Bird Conservation Initiative, Partners in Flight, and
    other policy issues related to migratory birds.

-   **Rich Smoker** -- Smoker, who served as a Judge for the 2004
    Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest, is a master waterfowl carver from
    Marion Station, Maryland. In competition, Rich has won over 400
    ribbons, including 50 \"Best in Show\" and a third in the 2001 Ward
    World Championship Carving Competition with a Long Eared Owl. In
    2001, he was inducted into the Carver\'s Hall of Fame at the
    Waterfowl Festival in Easton, MD and his art is now the subject of a
    special exhibition at the Ward Decoy Museum in Salisbury, MD.

-   **Kim Matalik** -- Matalik is an Operations Specialist in Retail
    Operations at the United States Postal Service. She works with
    programs and policies that affect the day-to-day operations of post
    offices nationwide. Kim has been with the Postal Service for 24
    years and has served at the chairperson of the Federal Duck Stamp
    Task Force since November 2003.

For more information and a complete list of images and contest results,
please see the Duck Stamp Program's home page at
[**www.fws.gov/duckstamps**](http://www.fws.gov/duckstamps)