Articles – big and small, from national and regional publications – that discuss the Stamp, its uses, growth, and future.
October 2024
James Barron reports on the show of Duck Stamp paintings and other materials at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut.
October 2021
A new young artist, Kira Fennell, chronicled their art composition and painting journey on TikTok. This story went on to be featured on CBS Sunday Morning. The young artist “now has millions of views, watching their every brushstroke, as they embark on the quest of a lifetime” according to reporter Nancy Chen. Fennell notes the contest “hasn’t been tapped by my generation” and “I’ll be just as excited for next year.” With background information on the Stamp and the Art Contest, this story has reached new audiences.
April 2020
In March and April the Friends of the Migratory Bird/Duck Stamp submitted written testimony for the FY 2021 appropriations process for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Testimony was submitted to both the House and Senate Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittees.
Our testimony requested an increase to $1 million for the Duck Stamp Office, Migratory Bird Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We also requested $586 million in funding for the operations and maintenance of the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS). The request for NWRS funds mirrors the request made by the National Wildlife Refuge Association.
August 2018
Jason Crotty at 10,000 Birds makes the connection between Stamp sales and National Wildlife Refuges.
The bottom line for any conservation-minded birder is that many of America’s best birding locations would not exist or would be much smaller if not for Duck Stamps and the MBCF.
April 2018
Nick Paumgarten canoes the Rio Grande. Stunning overhead photography by George Steinmetz.
August 2016
Jamie Williams writes an op-ed in defense of our public lands.
We hear over and over that the government can’t manage the land it already owns. Those words ring especially hollow when they come from the same members of Congress who deliberately underfund our parks and public lands and undermine community-driven, science-based efforts to manage them.
Anti-conservation lawmakers devise such distractions to justify their actions because they know that the American people prize these lands. That’s why opponents of federal ownership often bury these measures in large bills that Congress must pass.
The reality is that people as well as birds and other wildlife flock to our national refuges, parks and forests. Many of these protected areas are near populous urban centers and offer children a first dose of wild America.
November 2015
By Alexandra Class Freeman, a visually stunning one-page introduction to the history of the Duck Stamp—and why it’s important for conservation-minded folks to support the program—from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology: “How Hunters and Artists Helped Save North America’s Waterfowl”.
April 2003 (added July 2015)
Mari N. Jensen’s article for BioScience covers the first 100 years of the Refuge System and looks to the future. She emphasizes the importance of the Comprehensive Conservation Plans required by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997. Although the focus of the paper is on ongoing operations and maintenance, the Stamp also earns a mention.
June 2015
Paul Baicich explains the Stamp and its importance to birders in an article for Bird Observer.
29 August 2014
John W. Fitzpatrick submits an op-ed to the New York Times, “Saving Our Birds,” and hat-tips the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act.
August/September 2014
Paul Baicich describes “80 years of the duck stamp” for Outdoors Unlimited, the magazine of the Outdoor Writers Association of America.
July 2014
Brian Kevin offers a wry profile of Stamp artists Adam Grimm and Tim Taylor for Audubon Magazine.
12 March 2014
Paul A. Smith wrote a particularly thorough piece in the Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee) on the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Stamp.
1 July 2014
The July-August issue of Ducks Unlimited magazine contained an article on the 80 years of the Stamp, written by Paul Schmidt and Whitney Tawney.
28 June 2014
Nancy Hillstrand’s guest post for the American Birding Association calls on birders to meet the challenge of providing essential conservation funds.
Birders to the rescue! As a badge of honor, those of us who know and love birds must annually pledge to step up to support them.
28 June 2013
Annetta’s blog post for Round Robin features an interactive map of the country’s National Wildife Refuges, color-coded by the percentage of land in each that was acquired via Stamp funds.
25 June 2013
William Grimes covers the release of Robert Steiner’s 2013 duck stamp, and surveys duck stamps past and present—and Rob McBroom’s futuristic contest entry. Don’t miss the accompanying slideshow that tracks the evolution of stamp images since the 1930s.
19 March 2013
Matt Markey spotlights for the Toledo Blade the upcoming 2013 Federal Duck Stamp Art Competition, which will be held at Ohio’s Maumee Bay State Park in September, and Ohio’s tradition of conservation and art.
23 February 2013
This piece by Patrick Durkin in the Madison (Wisconsin) State Journal starts with some of the recent demographics and implications on declining stamp sales, but ends up with some different emphases on requirements for holders of the stamp.
7 February 2013
A summary of the article by Mark Vrtiska of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission that originally appeared in The Wildlife Society Bulletin on waterfowl populations, hunters, and the Stamp.
1 February 2013
A two-minute broadcast on the importance of the Stamp from BirdNote.
20 January 2013
Birders and others need to buy the Stamp – from the San Francisco Chronicle.
June/July 2012
“Bucks for Ducks”: From Wildfowl magazine is an article by David Hart on the discussion over increasing the cost of the Stamp by another $10 – from $15 to $25.