The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service invites students in grades kindergarten through 12 to submit artwork in the 13th annual statewide competition for the Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest.

The designs should feature ducks, swans or geese in their natural habitats. Designs are judged in four age categories, with awards for first, second and third places and honorable mention.

Entries must be postmarked by March 15, 2008. The Maine best of show entry will compete with contest winners from other states in the national competition.

The first-place national winning design is used to create the Federal Junior Duck Stamp.

Proceeds from the sale of junior duck stamps (which cost $5 each) support conservation education by providing awards and scholarships for students, teachers and schools.

The 2007 Maine winner was a pair of wood ducks by Brianna Dostie of Greene.

Modeled after the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Federal Duck Stamp competition, the Junior Duck Stamp contest is part of an educational curriculum that teaches students about waterfowl, the importance of wetlands, and conservation in general. Proceeds from the sale of Federal Duck Stamps protect wetlands by adding them to the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Contest rules and entry packs will be mailed to all schools within the next few weeks and are currently available for download at www.fws.gov/juniorduck/

Children who are home-schooled are also eligible. A display of winning artwork is available to organizations that would like to promote the contest.

For more information on the contest and the display, call Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge at 646-9226.

To submit an item for publication in the Outdoor Notebook, send e-mail to jholyoke@bangordailynews.net, fax to 990-8092 or mail information to Outdoor Notebook, Bangor Daily News, PO Box 1329, Bangor, Maine, 04402-1329.