Will the Duck Stamp Get a New Look?
A new plan will either upend or expand an 82-year-old hunting tradition.
The American duck stamp is doing a little soul-searching.
Each year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issues a stamp to go along with every hunter鈥檚 state permit. (The stamp essentially acts like a license in designated hunting areas.) To non-hunters, it鈥檚 more of a collector鈥檚 item鈥攁 small painted vignette featuring a species of migratory waterfowl. The stamps cost $25; all the proceeds are put toward acquiring new lands for wildlife preserves.
Since 1946, the paintings have been chosen through the widely touted Federal Duck Stamp Contest. (Here鈥檚 探花精选鈥檚 Brian Kevin with a behind-the-scenes look at the competition, and Connie Sanchez with the scoop on the judging process.) But back in February, with the hope of garnering more interest from birders and hunters alike, USFWS proposed that would change the format of the stamps. The agency no longer wants to feature only hunted fowl鈥攄ucks, geese, swans鈥攂ut also wants to include other groups of birds, like hawks and herons, the reports. Artists would also be able to paint two species into one scene, as long as they live in the same habitat.
The plan has been met with mixed feelings from birders, hunters, and artists alike. In an interview with the Times, one artist said that adding a second species to the stamp "is going to make it more difficult to get [the] ideal image."
But the agency has its reasons for wanting to broaden the scope of the program. Stamp sales have dipped to about 1.5 million annually鈥攍ess than 30 percent of those purchases are made by non-hunters. 鈥淭he population of duck hunters, our main customers, is declining and aging,鈥 Daniel M. Ashe, the director of USFWS,told the Times. 鈥淪o we need to look at diversifying the customer base for the duck stamp.鈥
In this year鈥檚 competition, artists of including a second, non-waterfowl species on their design. But as it stands, USFWS hasn鈥檛 made up its mind on permanently changing the rules. The question now is, which is more important: preserving a decades-long tradition or adapting to modern times?