Environmental History Timeline, March 16, 1934

The "Duck Stamp Act of 1934" signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt March 16, 1934

The Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp, later renamed the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, popularly known as the "duck stamp", is a required purchase for those who would hunt waterfowl. Anyone age sixteen or older must posses the annual Federal Duck Stamp in order to legally pursue waterfowl anywhere in the United States and Territories. The duck stamp purchase requirement was made the law of the land in order to collect dedicated funds for wetland habitat protection.

The 2013-2014 Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp.

Today, bird watchers and other conservationists, stamp collectors and, of course, hunters buy Federal Duck Stamps to grow our National Wildlife Refuge System. Stamps serve as entry passes into select federal wildlife refuges that require entry fees, too. Stamp income goes to the dedicated Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, held for the purchase and protection of habitat, not subject to appropriations politics. Duck stamp dollars protect habitat! The Federal Duck Stamp is a success story, an icon of conservation, a really big deal.

Duck Stamp money amounting to over 850 million dollars has purchased or leased over 6.5 million acres of habitat, wetlands and waterfowl production areas, during 80 years of sales.

Jay N. "Ding" Darling, celebrity cartoonist and leading conservationist, conceived of the stamp idea to raise funds for habitat protection. Ding illustrated the first stamp printed for the 1934-1935 waterfowl season. Conservationist, "Honest" Harold Ickes, FDR's legendary Secretary of Interior during the New Deal and Fair Deal years, said of Ding Darling's importance to conservation, "Darling is one of the greatest enthusiasts I have ever known."  President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had named Ding the first Director of the newly configured Bureau of Biological Survey (1934), immediate predecessor of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (1940). Ding Darling may be credited with launching much of our continuing effort to preserve wildlife habitat.

More information:
The Federal Duck Stamp Office, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, details all things Duck Stamps.
See how Federal Duck Stamp money is spent in your state.
See the evolution of Federal Duck Stamp law.
See all 80 Duck Stamp images.

Federal Duck Stamp Art Competition underway in NW Ohio

Hopeful wildlife artists' waterfowl art on display

Art work for the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, commonly known as the Federal Duck Stamp or just "duck stamp" is selected annually in the largest wildlife stamp art competition, globally. This is the only such competition held by the U.S. Government. Judges evaluate around 200 entries including those of top names in wildlife art.

Poster for the 2013 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest.

Hopeful artists are gathering today, September 26, 2013 for the two-day judging and selection process beginning September 27. Winning art will illustrate the 81st Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp. This year, the event is hosted by Ohio's Department of Natural Resources on Ohio's north shore at Maumee Bay State Park Conference Center, Oregon, Ohio. All art is on display and public viewing is invited and free. The winner will be announced Saturday afternoon, September 28. The competition will stream live online. To be selected as winner is prestigious and lucrative. The winning wildlife artist becomes a household name overnight among wildlife art aficionados.

Eighty years of Federal Duck Stamp sales amounting to over 850 million dollars has purchased or leased over 6.5 million acres of habitat; wetlands and waterfowl production areas. Duck stamp dollars protect habitat! The Federal Duck Stamp is a success story, an icon of conservation, a really big deal.

Hunters, age sixteen or older, must posses the annual Federal Duck Stamp in order to legally pursue waterfowl anywhere in the United States and Territories. Today, bird watchers and other conservationists, stamp collectors, and, of course, hunters buy Federal Duck Stamps to grow our National Wildlife Refuge System. Stamps serve as entry passes into select federal wildlife refuges that require entry fees (most refuges offer free entry). Stamp income goes to the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, held for the purchase and protection of habitat, not subject to appropriations politics.

Visit the official competition website for more information.

Support habitat conservation: Buy a duck stamp! Go to your local Post Office and request a Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp. Or, buy your stamp online at the US Postal Store. Miss out on past years? Several previous year's stamps remain on sale at the US Postal Store.

See my next post, Environmental History Timeline March 16, 1934 for a little duck stamp history and additional links.