DOVER – The results are in, and two artists have won top honors in the state’s sporting stamp art contests. A painting of canvasback ducks with a Chesapeake Bay retriever by Catherine Temple of Clarkston, Wash., will grace the 2017/18 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp, and a painting of a brown trout by Jeffrey Klinefelter of Etna Green, Ind., will adorn the 2017 Delaware Trout Stamp.

The paintings won top honors in the DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife’s annual stamp art competition, held April 14 at the Dover Public Library. This year’s competition drew 13 entries for the 2017/18 Waterfowl Stamp and 10 entries for the 2017 Trout Stamp. This year’s 37th anniversary Waterfowl Stamp contest specified that artwork chosen must include a canvasback duck and a Chesapeake Bay retriever.

As the 2017/18 Waterfowl Stamp winner, Catherine Temple receives a $2,500 prize and 150 artist’s proofs of the limited edition print series of her first place entry. Temple is an artist pursuing her passion for painting dogs and birds in the outdoors. As an avid outdoorswoman and self-taught artist, she uses her natural talents to create realistic portraits of hunting dogs and wild creatures in the mediums of acrylic, watercolor and gouache for clients and collectors across the country. The goal of her art is and has always been to tell a story, capture a memory or stir the heart and to bring to light that which is unseen in the world.

As the 2017 Trout Stamp winner, Jeffrey Klinefelter receives $250 and retains the rights to reproduce and sell prints of the stamp. After developing an interest in drawing and painting at a young age, Klinefelter graduated from Indiana University’s Herron School of Art. His interest in wildlife art came a few years later when he entered the federal duck stamp and Indiana stamp contests. Since then, he has won numerous stamp contests, including three Delaware Duck Stamp contests and five Delaware Trout Stamp contests. His most recent awards include winning the 2016/17 Ohio Wetland Habitat Stamp Competition and the 2015 Connecticut Duck Stamp contest.

Other winners included:

• 2017/18 Waterfowl Stamp: Second place – Robin Myers of Bloomfield, Ind.; Third place – Paul Makuchal of Pocomoke, Md.; Honorable mentions – George Bradford of Georgetown, Del.; Daniel Allard of Marengo, Ohio; and Mark Thone of Shakopee, Minn.
• 2017 Trout Stamp: Second place – Matt Patterson of New Ipswich, N.H., brown trout; Third place – George Bradford of Georgetown, Del., brown trout; Honorable mentions – Charles Rondeau of Port Angeles, Wash., rainbow trout; Jeffrey Klinefelter of Etna Green, Ind., rainbow trout; and Paul Fenwick of Hillsborough, N.J., rainbow trout.
  The winning 2017/18 Delaware Waterfowl Stamp will be available July 1, 2017, and the winning 2017 Delaware Trout Stamp will be available Jan. 1, 2017.

Waterfowl and Trout Stamp entries are on display through Friday, April 29 at the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, 2591 Whitehall Neck Road, Smyrna, DE 19977. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. For more information, please call 302-653-9345.

The 2017/18 Waterfowl Stamp judges were: Lou Caputo, Delaware Ducks Unlimited representative; Lloyd Alexander, art collector and retired wildlife professional; Paul Shertz, artist; Anthony Gonzon, wildlife biologist; and David Saveikis, Director, Division of Fish & Wildlife.

The 2017 Trout Stamp judges were: Noel Kuhrt, Delaware Trout Association; Leon Spence, artist; Cathy Martin, fisheries biologist; Charlie Miller, fisheries biologist; and Craig Karsnitz, member, Advisory Council on Wildlife and Freshwater Fish.

DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife, in partnership with Ducks Unlimited, started the Delaware Waterfowl Stamp (formerly known as the Delaware Duck Stamp) and print program in 1980 to raise funds for waterfowl conservation, including acquiring and improving wetland habitats vital to the survival of migratory waterfowl. To date, more than $2.6 million has been raised. Waterfowl Stamps go on sale July 1 of each year. Residents age 16 and older are required to purchase a Delaware Waterfowl Stamp, which costs $9, for hunting migratory waterfowl in Delaware. Delaware resident hunters age 65 and older are not required to purchase a Delaware waterfowl stamp.

The Division of Fish & Wildlife began requiring trout stamps in the 1950s, and a trout stamp and a general fishing license are required to fish in designated trout waters during certain seasons. Trout stamp art was first used in 1977. The fees paid for Trout Stamps are used to purchase rainbow and brown trout from commercial hatcheries, with the purchased trout stocked in two downstate ponds and selected streams in northern New Castle County for Delaware’s trout seasons. Trout stamps go on sale January 1 of each year. Residents 16 through 64 years of age are required to have a Delaware Trout Stamp, which costs $4.20. Residents ages 12 through 15 years old are required to have a Young Angler Trout Stamp, which costs $2.10. Non-residents 12 years of age and older are required to have a Non-Resident Trout Stamp, which costs $6.20.

Delaware hunting and fishing licenses, as well as Waterfowl Stamps and Trout Stamps, are sold online, at the licensing desk in DNREC’s Richardson & Robbins Building, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, and by license agents statewide. To find a participating agent, or to purchase licenses or stamps online, visit Delaware Licenses. For additional information on Delaware hunting and fishing licenses, call 302-739-9918.

For more information on Delaware’s sporting stamp art competitions, please call DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife at 302-739-9912.

Media Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 134

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