Page 8 - 2019 JAN/FEB Outdoor Oklahoma

FLORIDA ARTIST’S WOOD DUCK TO GRACE

2019-20 OKLAHOMA WATERFOWL STAMP

The winner of the 2018 Oklahoma Waterfowl
Stamp art competition is Groveland, Fla., artist
John Nelson Harris. His depiction of a wood
duck drake earned him first place, and his art-
work will be featured on Oklahoma’s waterfowl
stamp for the 2019-20 hunting seasons.
His entry was among 43 artworks submitted
this year by hopeful artists from across the nation.
Artists who received honorable mention for
their entries are Justin Madding of Danville,
Ark.; James Basham of North Myrtle Beach,
S.C.; and Buck Spencer of Junction City, Ore.
The subject for next year’s contest will be
the Canada goose. Entries must be received
by 4:30 p.m. Aug. 1, 2019. For complete rules,
go to wildlifedepartment.com and search for
“duck competition.”
The Oklahoma waterfowl stamp program Winner: John Nelson Harris, Groveland, Fla.
was designed to ensure quality habitat for the
hundreds of thousands of ducks and geese that
migrate through the state each year. The program, which
began in 1980, features portraits of the state’s diverse water-
fowl species by the nation’s best artists.
The program generates funding for waterfowl conserva-
tion projects through the sale of waterfowl licenses, which
are required of waterfowl hunters, and stamp sales, many
of which are purchased by collectors.
The program has funded the purchase of nearly 12,000
wetland acres along with the enhancement, creation, resto-
ration and maintenance of thousands of additional acres of
critical waterfowl habitat. Wetland development units such
as Hackberry Flat Wildlife Management Area in southwest-
ern Oklahoma and Red Slough WMA in McCurtain County
have benefited from state duck stamp funds.
Honorable Mention: Buck Spencer, Junction City, Ore.

Honorable Mention: Justin Madding, Danville, Ore. Honorable Mention: James Basham, North Myrtle Beach, S.C.

6 Off the Beaten Path

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