ENTRIES NEEDED FOR DUCK STAMP CONTEST

JEFFERSON CITY -- A young Missouri artist will win $1,000 and the right to compete for a trip to Washington, D.C. in the second annual Missouri Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Contest.

Youths in grades kindergarten through high school are eligible to enter the contest. Classroom or art teachers must request official entry packets in order for students to enter the contest. Entries must depict wild ducks, geese or swans.

Entries will be judged in four divisions: grades K-3, grades 4-6, grades 7-9 and grades 10-12. Judges select three first-place winners, three second-place winners, three third-place winners and 16 honorable mentions in each division.

They will pick one first-place winner as Missouri's best of show. The winning artist will receive $1,000, and his or her design will go to the national competition.

National first-, second-, and third-place winners, will receive free three-day trips to Washington, D.C.

Entries must be 9 by 12 inches in a horizontal format. Any medium is acceptable. Entries must be postmarked no later than March 15. Send entries to: Missouri Department of Conservation, Education Division, P. O. Box 180, Jefferson City, MO 65102.

Judging will take place in April.

The junior duck stamp program parallels the federal Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp program. That program was established in 1934 to raise money for the national wildlife refuge system.

Waterfowl hunters 16 years or older must buy federal duck stamps, but not the youth duck stamp. More than 98 percent of revenue from the sale of duck stamps goes to national wildlife refuges. The winning entry in the national junior duck stamp contest is issued as a stamp. Money raised through sales of this stamp is used to support the junior duck stamp program.