Today the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced the winners of its 2019 Habitat Conservation, Upland Game Bird, and Waterfowl Stamp art contests. A panel of independent judges chose the winners November 3 at the ODFW art show and wine release event at Duck Pond Cellars in Dundee.

• Habitat Conservation Stamp Winner – Karin Wares of Medford, Oregon with her painting of a Franklin’s Bumble Bee, an Oregon Conservation Strategy Species of greatest conservation need.
• Upland Game Bird Stamp Winner – Kip Richmond of Clayton, North Carolina with his painting of a Ruffed Grouse.
• Waterfowl Stamp Winner – Guy Crittenden of Richmond, VA with his painting of a pair of Greater White-fronted Geese.

Wares, Richmond, and Crittenden will each receive a prize award of $2,000. Winning artwork will be the face of the 2019 stamps and other promotional items to benefit Oregon’s native wildlife and their habitats.

More than 300 people attended this year’s event and voted for their favorite artwork out of 70 entries for the People’s Choice Award. Competition for this award was stiff with Wares taking first place with her Franklin’s Bumble Bee painting.

See photos of all the 2019 contest entries:

• Habitat Conservation
• Upland Game Bird
• Waterfowl

The art show was held at Duck Pond Cellars in conjunction with the release of their Conservation Cuvee – Lot 6. This is the sixth year the winery has produced unique blends of Pinot Noir that feature winning artwork from the Habitat Conservation Stamp art contest. Duck Pond then donates $5 from the sale of each bottle to ODFW’s Conservation Program. To date, the winery has donated $42,385 which is used to benefit species of greatest conservation need in Oregon.

“The art show with Duck Pond is something we look forward to and this year, we were pleased to have more artwork entries and more visitors to the show,” said Andrea Hanson, ODFW Conservation Strategy Coordinator. “It is a great way to bring attention to some of Oregon’s amazing fish and wildlife that need our help, and gives us a chance to meet many new people who are also interested in Oregon’s natural wonders.”

Conservation Cuvee – Lot 6 features the 2018 Habitat Conservation Stamp winning artwork of Pygmy Rabbit by Kip Richmond. Conservation Cuvee can be purchased.at the Duck Pond Cellars tasting room and through its Conservation Cuvee website.

Habitat Conservation Stamp
The Habitat Conservation Stamp and art prints feature species identified in the Oregon Conservation Strategy as species in need of help, such as Acorn Woodpeckers, Pygmy Rabbits, Northern Red-legged Frogs, Coho Salmon and many others. Revenue helps restore habitats essential to declining or at-risk species. Collector stamps and art prints are available for purchase on the ODFW website.

Upland Game Bird Stamp
Oregon’s upland game bird stamp art contest first began in 1990 and each year features one of 10 upland game bird species found in Oregon. This year, artists were asked to feature Ruffed Grouse in its natural habitat setting. Sales of the Upland Game Bird Stamp fund game bird research, surveys, habitat improvement and conservation projects.

Waterfowl Stamp
Sales of the Waterfowl Stamp fund waterfowl management projects including population surveys, banding, and wetland management and enhancement. Artwork featured on previous stamps included geese, ducks and waterfowl hunting dogs. Artists this year could feature Lesser Scaup, Greater White-fronted Geese, American Green-winged Teal or Red-breasted Merganser in their natural habitat.

Hunters who purchased a waterfowl and/or upland validation can request a complementary stamp for the validation they purchased using the form found online.