2009 Waterfowl Stamp Design Contest Rules

I. Contest Eligibility:

Any person 18 years of age or older who is a legal resident of the State of Wisconsin shall be eligible to submit an entry in the Waterfowl Stamp Design Contest. Any member of the contest judging panel or any member of his or her immediate family is ineligible to enter. Any person who has won the Waterfowl Stamp Design Contest during the preceding two years is also ineligible.

II. Contest Dates:

The contest to select the design for the 2009 Wisconsin Waterfowl Stamp shall start on June 2, 2008. Any person who wishes to enter shall contact the Bureau of Wildlife Management, P. O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921, requesting a copy of the rules and agreement form [PDF 74KB]. Entries will be accepted any time after June 2, 2008, but must be received or postmarked no later than July 28, 2008.

2008 Waterfowl Stamp Contest Winner is a painting of a canvasback pair by Brian Kuether of Greenfield. Read more...

III. Restrictions of Subject Matter:

Living species of waterfowl commonly found in Wisconsin or appropriate subject matter relating to waterfowl hunting must be the dominant feature of any design. For purposes of this contest, "waterfowl" is defined as species of ducks, geese, and swans commonly residing in or migrating through Wisconsin. Species which were not selected as waterfowl stamp winners in the previous three years will receive preference. Wisconsin’s 2006 stamp portrayed a green-winged teal pair, the 2007 stamp depicted a pair of red heads, and the 2008 stamp is of a pair of canvasbacks. (View all three previous stamps).

The design must be the artist's original creation and shall not be copied or duplicated from previously published art, including published photographs.

IV. Suitability of Entry for Reproduction:

Artists shall not be limited in the choice of colors or medium. The medium selected must be of permanent quality, such as pen and ink, oil, watercolor, etching or pencil and should be rendered with full attention to tone, detail and anatomical accuracy. Photographs are not eligible. Metallic paints and fluorescent paints should not be used, as the printing inks used to reproduce the actual stamps will not contain metallic particles or fluorescent properties.

The artist should keep in mind the lettering that will appear on the finished stamp. Do NOT try to fit in the words on your entry, but DO keep some areas open to accommodate the lettering. The open areas can be light or dark in tone, but should be relatively free of any harsh contrasts from dark to light.

V. Technical Requirement for Entry:

The design shall be horizontal in the exact proportion of 7" high by 10" wide. These are also the federal duck stamp dimensions. It must be matted (over-only) to the exact size of 10" high and 13" wide. No lettering or scroll work is permitted on the design itself. DO NOT SIGN THE FACE OF THE DESIGN!

VI. Submission Procedures:

Every entry must be mounted and affixed with white matting as described in Section V above to the outside dimension of 10” high by 13” wide. Masonite board of 1/8-inch thickness with 1/8-inch matting is recommended. Entries may not exceed approximately ¼ inch in total thickness. A covering of cellophane or acetate is NOT required for entries as in previous years.

Each entry is to be securely wrapped and mailed by registered or certified mail, or hand delivered to: Wisconsin Waterfowl Stamp Contest, Bureau of Wildlife Management, P. O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921. The top one-half of the third page of the agreement form (PDF, 74KB) form must be attached to the back of the entry. The bottom one-half of the third page of the agreement form (PDF, 74KB) must be enclosed with the entry. All entries will be promptly processed on receipt.

Each contestant must also send by separate mail, or hand deliver, the signed agreement (PDF, 74KB) portion of their entry. All entries will be processed by DNR based on the date of receipt. A contest coordinator will supervise the processing of entries, assign numbers to each entry, set up displays for judging, and supervise the return of all entries at the completion of the contest. An individual artist may submit only one entry.

VII. Insurance Needs for Entries:

All contestants are advised that it is their responsibility to obtain adequate property insurance for their respective entry. The Department of Natural Resources will not insure any entry it receives and will not assume liability for any damage, loss, or theft of any entry.

VIII. Failure to Comply with Contest Rules:

Any entry that fails to comply with any of the requirements of the contest shall be disqualified and will not be considered by the judging panel.

IX. Selection of Judging Panel:

There will be a panel of three to five judges appointed by the Director, Bureau of Wildlife Management. The judges will be selected to provide a representative cross-section of individuals with expertise and an interest in waterfowl and wildlife art. Judges selected will serve without compensation.

X. Date and Location of the Contest Judging:

Selection of the contest winner will take place on August 16, 2008 at the Neville Public Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin in concurrence with the museum’s Art and the Animal exhibit.

All qualifying entries will be displayed on the date of the judging and will be shown in chronological order based on the date they were received. The only visible identification mark on each entry will be the number assigned the entry by the contest coordinator as well as the name of the species depicted. All artwork submitted will remain on display until August 24th, 2008.

XI. Judging Procedure and Scoring:

All entries will be judged on anatomical accuracy, proper habitat setting, artistic composition, and suitability for reproduction.

Prior to the actual judging, the judging panel will be briefed by a printing expert on the characteristics which make a design suitable for color lithography used in printing.

The judging procedure will be as follows:

Step 1. All entries meeting the design contest rules will be examined by the judging panel. Each judge may nominate an unlimited number of entries for inclusion in the second step of the judging procedure.

Step 2. The judges will rate each entry on a scale of 10 to 1 (10 being high and 1 low). The entries receiving the 10 highest scores will be advanced to the third and final step.

Step 3. The judges will then rank the ten "finalists" listing their choices from 1 (high) to 10 (low). The entry with the lowest total shall be declared the first place winner.

In case of ties in either steps 2 or 3, judges will rejudge only those entries tied for last place in step 2 or first place in step 3 according to the procedures listed under that step.

Scores in all steps of the judging procedure will be tabulated by the contest coordinator. The selection of the winning entry by the judges will be final. All contestants will be notified of the name of the winning artist and design.

The first place winner will receive a special plaque. The nine runners up will receive a certificate of recognition.

XII. Top 10 Entries:

Following the contest, the Department has the option of holding the top ten entries for publicity purposes for up to six months. All entries will then be returned to their respective artists. For additional information please write "Waterfowl Stamp Design Contest,@ Bureau of Wildlife Management, Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921.

XIII. Future Contests:

Waterfowl Stamp Design Contests will be held between May 15 and September 15 each year.

Entries, other than previous winning designs, may be resubmitted in future contests.

XIV. Prints for Department of Natural Resources:

The winning artist will be required to provide the Department of Natural Resources two (2) prints for display and informational purposes.

For more information on this topic, send mail to: Michele Cipiti

Questions for Wildlife Management