Tenth Anniversary (1993-2003) of the

South Dakota Junior Duck Stamp Program

Most people have heard of the Duck Stamp that hunters purchase, but the Junior Duck Stamp is less well known. The Junior Duck Stamp program is a contest and an educational program. Students in grades 1-12 complete a Junior Duck Stamp design as their visual “term paper” that brings together visual arts, an understanding of anatomy, and environmental science. Designs are entered into the state contest and the winning entry goes to the national contest. The national winner is printed as the Junior Duck Stamp and is sold at Post Offices and other venues. 

Few people realize South Dakota’s role in the story of both duck stamps.

The Federal Duck Stamp

Jay N. Darling, a Pulitzer prize winning political cartoonist for the Des Moines Register, frequently hunted in the fields of eastern South Dakota in the 1930s. He saw the land change and the number of waterfowl decline and was in a position to help in 1934 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed him head of the Bureau of Biological Survey (now the Fish and Wildlife Service). Darling teamed up with South Dakota Senator Peter Norbeck to pass a bill titled “The Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act”. Norbeck had noticed the decline of ducks around his Redfield home and wanted to help.

The Duck Stamp Act became law and Duck Stamp dollars began preserving wetland habitat for waterfowl in National Wildlife Refuges. Ding Darling was the artist for the first duck stamp (stamp picture) that was issued in 1934 and sold for one dollar. A South Dakotan, Fred Staunton, who was manager of the Waubay Refuge in the 1940s, helped change the way Duck Stamp dollars were used. He thought that large refuges were needed by migrating ducks, but that ducks that were nesting and those that were rearing broods needed small parcels of water, like prairie potholes. His idea made sense and in 1959 the federal government began using duck stamp dollars to purchase small tracts of land from willing sellers. The tracts were called Waterfowl Production Areas (WPA) and the first WPA was purchased in Day County (Berry 1989).

The 2004 Federal Stamp marks the 71st year of sales that have raised about $670 million to protect about 5.2 million acres of wetland habitat. Though all waterfowl hunters over the age of sixteen must carry a signed Federal Duck Stamp to hunt migratory waterfowl, the stamp also provides users free admission to National Wildlife Refuges where fees are charged. Ninety-eight percent of the revenue raised from the sale of each $15 stamp is used for habitat conservation (http://duckstamps.fws.gov/Info/news.htm).

The Junior Duck Stamp

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service initiated the Federal Junior Duck Stamp program in 1991. Then in the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Coop Unit was heavily involved in research and extension on wetlands, specifically on the prairie potholes of South Dakota. The research and extension program was the legacy of long-time Unit Leader Dr. Ray Linder, who retired in 1985. Unit Leader Chuck Berry and South Dakota State University (SDSU) Art Department Head Dr. Norman Gambill collaborated to bring the Junior Duck Stamp Program to South Dakota in 1993 (Berry 1993). 

South Dakota was one of the first states to adopt the Junior Program. About 300 entries were submitted from 50 schools in 1993. Schools from Chester, Conde, Warner, Colome, and Rutland received honors for getting the most students involved. Best of show was by Heather Hall, Arlington High School.  Federal Junior Duck Stamp Coordinator JoAnn Schneider of the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service presented a recognition plaque to the Coop Unit saying, “The South Dakota event was probably the best this year.  Many of the things you did are being suggested to other states.” From the 22 states in the program at that time, the National winner was from Illinois (picture of redhead duck).

 The 1993 contest in South Dakota was judged by artists, art educators, and waterfowl biologists (see picture below showing Unit Leader C. Berry calling the school that submitted the best of show). In 1994, the Service’s Wetlands Management Office in Huron joined the team. After several years of involvement, the Coop Unit was moved out of the Fish and Wildlife Service and thereafter reduced its involvement except for monetary support.

Today the program is stronger than ever with about 800 entries annually from about 50 public and private school programs. The program crosses cultural, ethnic, social, and geographic boundaries to teach greater awareness of our national resources. Art teachers receive a free teaching curriculum to help students combine two non-traditional subjects – art and wildlife management.  The program is a way for students to express knowledge outside the traditional science classroom.

A traveling exhibit of state winners is available from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (http://duckstamps.fws.gov/junior/junior.htm). The show is available to schools, libraries, art galleries, and state offices. Funds raised from sale of Junior Duck Stamps provide funding for educational initiatives that teach young people the benefits of wildlife habitat conservation and for awards and scholarships for the students, teachers, and schools that participate in the program. State agencies that sell Junior Duck Stamps may use their share of the proceeds for conservation purposes.

Below are the South Dakota best-of-show for 1993 and 1994. Both were submitted by William Schultz, Age 18, Menno Public School. Also shown is the national winner as it appeared as a stamp.

Literature Cited

Berry, Charles, R. 1994. Junior Duck Stamp Program: More than an art contest. South Dakota Conservation Digest, Volume 61 (January/February):14-17.

Berry, Charles R. 1989. A duck farmer blew the whistle on wetlands. South Dakota Magazine. July/August: 42-45.

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