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The Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program is soaring high in schools throughout Louisiana. Students, K-12^th grades, across the state from public, private and home school groups participated in this prestigious contest.

The Junior Duck Stamp contest was created by Jaye Boswell at the Sanibel School (then Sanibel Elementary School) in 1989 and adopted by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 1992. This year celebrates the 30^th anniversary of the contest.  The program is a take-off of the annual Federal Duck Stamp competition started by Jay N. “Ding” Darling in 1934. Last year more than 28,000 students from across the country learned the importance of protecting wetland environments to waterfowl management practices and other wildlife conservation methods while participating in the Junior Duck Stamp art contest.

“Tranquility” is the title of the 2022 Louisiana Best of Show masterpiece created by 17 year old Caleb Clement of Shreveport, LA. This is the third Best of Show win for Clement and this year’s entry is an oil painting of an American Wood Duck drake. With guidance from local artists, teachers and his family, Clement’s masterpiece stood out from the rest with his attention to detail and use of lighting.

Clement’s painting will compete in the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest against competitors from all 50 states and 4 U.S. territory on Friday, April 22, 2022. Scholarships will be awarded to the top three artists and the winning conservation message in the national contest. The first placed Federal Junior Duck Stamp national winner’s artwork will be made into the 2022/2023 National Junior Duck Stamp that sells for $5.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife staff and volunteers judge the conservation message portion of the Louisiana Junior Duck Stamp contest anonymously. Kelby Brown, 14 years old from Franklinton LA, submitted this year’s winning Louisiana Conservation Message. Brown wrote “Conserve the duckies and don’t be fussy!” Kelby’s message will also compete in the national competition on April 22, 2022.

All Louisiana participants will receive a certificate of completion in the 2021/2022 Federal Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design program. Winning artwork can be viewed online at this link – https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzKNLh

The Louisiana Junior Duck Stamp winners are as follows:

Group 1 (K-3^rd grade)

            1^st Place: Merek Hu, Antian He, Michael Yi

            2^nd Place: Arya Ning, Ethan Liu, Matthew Yi

            3^rd Place: Adalyn Pohlmann, Fabiana Montenegro, Anabelle Pohlmann

Honorable Mention: Isabella Meyers, Annabelle Steele, Kailee Brown, Lavender Luckett, Linzi Washington, Connor Stoltz, Knowledge Peters, Riley Jackson, Victoria Trahan, Han Bui, Kelsie Gradney, Michael Cody, Jonah Williams, Zoey Diggs, Camille Joseph, Elias Mackie

Group 2 (4^th – 6^th grade)

            1^st Place: Delilah Miller, Mahdi Peters, Aubrey Sanders

            2^nd Place: Anthony Canales, Charles Taylor, AJ Thomas

            3^rd Place: Alycin Weatherspoon, Kaileigh Haynes, Legacy Peters

Honorable Mention: Javion Sanders, Aidan Jones, Joshua Paul Myers, Alexandria Kelly, Darrel Daniels, Marvin Canales, Jace Edwards, Kyla Barber, Madison Rome, Zada Diggs, Giamani Colman, Zavier Gardner, Aubrey Blount, Isabella Kelly, Jordan Rossum, Kynnedi Irwin

Group 3 (7^th – 9^th grade)

            1^st Place: Ethan Schilling, Elana Jordan, Destiny Martinez

2^nd Place: Jane Alphonse, Kelby Brown, Izabel Hanson

            3^rd Place: Rayanna Schilling, Makayla McBeth, Alexis LeBlanc

Honorable Mention: Hayden D’Luca, Railee Ray, London Magee, Morgan Modlin, June Westmoreland, Luke Roshto, Blaize Hanson, Beau Webb, Eden Thomas, Payton Galloway, Jacqueline Castro, Olivia DeLeon, Gabriella Deslatte, Roan Bickham, Addyson Stewart, Stephen Revere

Group 4 (10^th – 12^th grade)

            1^st Place: Caleb Clement (Best of Show), Marleigh Schilling, Evee Graham

            2^nd Place: Mattie Smith, Brianna Sharp, Destiny Watkins

            3^rd Place: Emma Cooke, Brooke Hartzog, Morgan Athey

Honorable Mention: Anthony Wootan, KeTeylar Hodges, Kade Langne, Morgan Killgone, Briana Walle, Gracie Thigpen

USFWS Photo: 2022 Louisiana Junior Duck Stamp Best of Show winner. Oil Painting by Caleb Clement, 17 yrs. old from Shreveport, LA.

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The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.  For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit  www.fws.gov/southeast.  Connect with us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/usfwssoutheast, follow our tweets at www.twitter.com/usfwssoutheast, watch our YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/usfws, and download photos from our Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwssoutheast.