The winners of the 2019 Wyoming Junior Duck Stamp Program were recently announced from the 211 total art entries that were received from around the state, from students in kindergarten up to 12th grade.

Students can also include a “conservation message” with their art, which summarizes what they learned through the program. Cydney Brown, age 15, of Cokeville, WY submitted this year’s winning conservation message: “A future without conservation is like a canvas without paint.”

Wyoming’s 2019 Best of Show artwork, pictured below, is a watercolor rendition of a pair of northern pintail drakes, titled “Pintails in Flight” by Brianna Simmons, age 18, of Cody, WY.

Brianna Simmons’s watercolor of the pintails and Cydney Brown’s conservation message will both advance to represent Wyoming at the 2019 National Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest which will be held Friday, April 19th, 2019 at Patuxent Research Refuge in Laurel, MD.

A panel of judges will choose a Best of Show at the national level which will be printed on the 2018-2019 National Junior Duck Stamp. The new Junior Duck Stamp will be released in June of 2019 and will be available for $5 at www.duckstamp.com as well as from some U.S. Postal Service locations, National Wildlife Refuges, and through the Amplex Corporation. Proceeds from the sale of the stamps support conservation education and provide prizes, awards and scholarships for students participating in the Junior Duck Stamp Program.

Wyoming’s Junior Duck Stamp Program also awards a “Betty Nelson Artistic Promise Award” to the youngest age group, K–6th grades, to an artist the judges feel exhibits exemplary artistic promise. This year’s Betty Nelson Artistic Promise Award went to Kashton Walker, age 9, of Cokeville, WY for a colored pencil depiction of a harlequin drake, which is pictured below.

This dynamic educational program uses both conservation and design principles to teach wetland habitat and waterfowl biology to students in kindergarten through high school. The art contest provides an opportunity for students to artistically express their knowledge of the diversity and beauty of waterfowl and their habitat.

Educational guides for youth, educators, home school, and non-traditional education are available through the Junior Duck Stamp Program. Please visit www.fws.gov/refuge/seedskadee/wyjrduck or contact Katie Theule (307) 413-8157 or Katie_Theule@fws.gov for free copies.