Federal Duck Stamp Contest 2023 
More than $1.1 billion for the acquisition and preservation 
of more than 6 million acres of wildlife habitat 

Jay Darling’s drawing of ducks on a piece of cardboard in 1934 led to the creation of the Federal Duck Stamp Program. While serving as the head of the U.S. Biological Survey during President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration, Darling developed and implemented the Duck Stamp Program. Funds from the sale of Duck Stamps support the National Wildlife Refuge System. This visionary program has raised over $1 billion to acquire habitat for national wildlife refuges in all 50 states.

Each year the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service holds an art contest to select a painting for the following year’s Duck Stamp.

Richard Clifton of Milford, Delaware, is the winner of the 2020 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest. The announcement was made via live stream at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters in Falls Church, Virginia.

We had the pleasure of taking The Hidden Works of Jay N. “Ding” Darling Exhibit to the 2017 Federal Duck Stamp Contest hosted by The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.  Enjoy some of the images from that event!